Instructional Video on how to add fractions

Instructional video on adding fractions with different denominators

The profession of teaching is all about constantly responding to new challenges. As students evolve in the face of all the new technologies they are subjected to everyday, their demands change. What was once the leading edge in teaching can become passé quickly but one of the constants in the elementary school teaching ranks has always been the worksheet. These are invaluable tools for the elementary school teacher, and in changing times this useful tool has gone pretty much unchanged in its importance. And since mathematics continues as one of the most important subjects for elementary school children to grasp, the fundamentals of the elementary math worksheet and the thought processes behind them deserve a thorough look.

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1. Small dry erase boards (or white boards from your local home supply store cut into squares) and dry erase markers are great tools when teaching math. You write a problem out on the board and have all of your students copy it down and work it out. The first one that lifts their board in the air with the correct answer wins a treat. (Tip: Maybe set a time limit for each problem)

2. You can create a game show in your classroom with touch light’s (those lights you push on and they turn on) and math problems. Divide your class into two teams (boys versus girls if you can) and each student gets a light. You give out math problems and the student or team that completes the problem first hits their light and their team gets a point (if the problem is right). Offer some type of prize to the winning team.

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Fractions are not always an easy subject for children to learn, and they are not any easier for teachers to teach. Fractions can be a difficult concept, and the student who does not learn the basics will have great difficulty mastering concepts that are more advanced. An easy way for teachers to help students learn fractions is to make the lessons fun.

Food Fractions

One way of teaching fractions that will get a child’s attention is to use food and kitchen items. These are familiar items for the child, so it puts fractions into terms they can easily understand.

Measuring cups come in a whole and fractions of a whole. Students can use the smaller cups to scoop beans or beads and pour them into the 1-cup measuring cup. This allows them to see, for example, that four 1/4 measuring cups equals 1 cup. They can also see how fractions relate to each other by pouring 1/4 cups into 1/2 cups or pouring 1/8 cups into 1/2 cups.

Many brands of chocolate bars are scored to make easily breakable sections. Give students chocolate bars, and have them count the number of sections. Explain that there are, for example, sixteen sections in one chocolate bar so one section is equal to one-sixteenth. You can take this further by telling them you want to break it into two equal pieces, and then asking how many sections would need to be in each piece. This leads to one-half of 16 being 8. Students can continue dividing the candy bar for one-fourth and one-eighth.

Other Ideas

Food items may not always be practical, but there are other creative ways to teach fractions.

Give students strips of construction paper that are the same length. Have them glue one strip to a sheet of poster board or a larger sheet of construction paper. Have them fold a strip in half and glue this next to the first strip. Do this with thirds, fourths, fifths, etc., and have students discuss things how many sections there are for each folded strip. By gluing them side-by-side, students will be able to see how two halves or three thirds are the same size as one whole.

This can also be used to help students understand the basics of multiplying fractions. For example, to make fourths, students fold the strip in half, and then fold each half into half. One-half of one-half is one-fourth.

Use words and word puzzles to help students grasp fractions. Create a sentence or two that students have to decode. Another idea is to have students decode clues for a crossword puzzle, with the decoded word being the answer that goes into the puzzle. For example, for the word “one,” the clue to decode it could be “the first one-third of our + the second half of done.”

Use alternate names to explain how fractions work. For example, you could explain to students that one strawberry is written as 1/strawberry. Then students can add strawberries, as in 2/strawberries + 3/strawberries = 5/strawberries. This helps emphasize the denominator, and how the denominator does not change when fractions are added.

Going a step farther, you could explain that 2/strawberries cannot be added to 3/blueberries because strawberries and blueberries are different. To add them, you have to use a common denominator, like berries, which gives you 2/berries + 3/berries = 5 berries. As students grasp the berries idea, you can change it to numbers. If they start getting confused, simply say 2/berries + 3/berries instead of 2/9 + 3/9. Once they add the numerator, ask for the denominator, saying, “Now we have 5/berries, but instead of berries, we are using…” and point to the nine.

This is, by no means, a complete list of creative methods for teaching fractions. Regardless of the grade level, there are many techniques to help students grasp the concept of fractions. By taking the time to make instruction creative, and to put concepts into terms that are easily understood, teachers can turn fractions into fun.

Fraction Worksheets >>>

Fractions Games >>>

As we all know, attitude is key to most things that we do, and teaching fractions is no exception. Before trying to teach something, it is important to sort out your own experiences first.

What do you think about math? When you were in school, do you hate math? Find it boring and useless? Does math make sense to you?

The answers to these questions may just be determining how effective a teacher you are.
Good teachers and effective teachers love the subject they are teaching, or at least aren’t totally negative about it. If a teacher feels negatively toward math, children will pick up on subtle clues and they too will feel negatively towards math. Two major factors in the student’s achievement in math are the way it is taught and the way the teachers feel about math.

Stay positive, and if possible, enthusiastic about math. If this is difficult, you may want to look at your past experiences, feelings and beliefs and work on changing them. This is an ongoing process. In the meantime, look at math examples that you can be enthusiastic about. Concrete, daily life examples are always valuable. Think of practice examples of using fractions in the kitchen, or around the house. Any example like this is good! Start off using examples that are concrete and that you can feel enthusiastic about, and you will pass on your enthusiasm, and avoid passing on negativity to your students.

Using games to teach fractions creates a fun and relaxed atmosphere in the classroom for both students and the teacher.

Treat your math class just like other subject, not as a difficult and un-learnable subject. The more positive you can be, and the more ‘real’ you can make learning math—the more students will learn and retain what they learn.

Math Games >>>

Making Fractions Easy for Kids

In solving math problems, practice is the most important skill to acquire. Routine memorization won’t help your students develop thinking skills. Try using the following methods to make learning fractions easy and fun for your students:

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