Students tend to have a hard time with fractions. It is a difficult concept to think of something as less then one, as not whole. The truth of the matter is, however, that we use and need fractions in our everyday lives. The way that a pizza is divided as well as the time allotted for each class in the school day are important examples of fractions. This activity is a hands-on way for students to visually see the way that fractions work.

There are two different finds of fraction bars. In our workshop, we used both. The first set are colorful strips of plastic, color coded by the denominator of each fraction. The set of these bars comes with games to help the students learn about fractions in a fun and imaginative way. The students can also make up their own games with the fraction bars.

The second kind of fraction bars that we used were wood shapes that fit together to make larger shapes. For example, four triangles could be put together to make a square. This is another good way to teach students about fractions because each smaller shape is part of a larger shape and it is quite easy to see and visualize.

Fraction

Numerator

Denominator

The students could have to explain to the class how they completed their favorite activity. Each group could explain why this particular activity was fun and why they liked it. Have the students explain what they learned from these activities.

The students could make up their own games where the fraction bars are used. If they make up new work sheets, the rest of the class could try and do them. The students could have time to be creative and learn with their groups using the fraction bars.

A test could be given on fractions where the fraction bars could be used and one where they could not be used.

The students as a class could create a new packet of games for the fraction bars. Each group could submit one new game and then a packet could be photocopied so that everyone could have a chance to try all of the different games. On each game, the students would have to explain what the player would learn while playing their game and why their game is good.

The students could also write a short story about fractions. For example, a story about a family and how each member is a different fraction of the family. As the story progresses, different members of the family do things together and the author could write about what fraction of the family is together and what the other fractions of the family are doing.

The students are using a hands-on method to learn fractions while in groups. These are both positive learning experiences for the students. The group work and learning to work with different people is an important skill that is learned here. The students will be learning to relate the concept of fractions to the applications where fractions are used in their lives. In the extensions, the students are using Language Arts skills to write the short stories and communication skills to make up a new game that the entire class can play.