Understanding fractions can be challenging for both students and adults. But with effective and engaging strategies, fraction help can be possible for all!
Creative tips to teach fractions to kids
You may be wondering how to teach fractions in new ways. No matter your curriculum or textbook, incorporating fun and effective fraction strategies can amplify your lessons to deepen understanding and help students view fractions in a new light.
Fraction basics: The fraction foundation for students
When teaching fractions, it’s critical to help students develop a conceptual understanding of concepts in the early years since knowledge of fractions significantly impacts students’ algebra and advanced math performance. Students who learn fractions with a firm grasp of fraction number sense (understanding that fractions are numbers that can be rewritten in different forms) will be much better prepared than students who rely solely on memorized procedures. Part of this strong number sense is an understanding of fraction magnitude (size), which in turn allows students to reason with and about fractions in various contexts.
Engaging strategies to teach fractions
Are you looking to make your fractions unit more effective and engaging? Try these strategies to teach fractions and make fractions for kids more meaningful.
1. Foster an understanding of fraction magnitude
A particular aspect of fractions that impacts subsequent learning is fraction magnitude. Students must adequately understand fraction magnitude in order to accurately compare fractions and perform other operations like adding and subtracting fractions.
Fraction magnitude knowledge begins when students view fractions as numbers. It's important to emphasize the value, meaning, and length of unit fractions early and often, just as you would when teaching students to count whole numbers. Help your students learn fractions and develop magnitude understanding by teaching them how a numerator and a denominator work together to create a single value (length).
But this practice doesn’t have to be boring! Incorporate physical manipulatives (like fraction blocks, cubes, bars, or tiles) to introduce students to basic fractions and help them view fraction magnitude for themselves. You can also show pictures of fractions in the real world and have students contribute their own examples to increase personal connections.
2. Incorporate visual representations, like length models and number lines
Research shows that as modeling tasks become more complex, fractions are easier to understand when presented with length models (blocks and number lines) rather than area models (such as circles, rectangles, and 1D shading). The strongest student success occurs when using number lines as the primary representation tool.
Understanding fractions can be much more intuitive for students when they use visual representations like length models and number lines. Help students become familiar with number lines by focusing their attention on intervals, rather than tick marks. Model how to count the intervals between 0 and 1, and teach students to associate that number with the denominator. Then, show students how to count the intervals between 0 and a particular point and associate that number with the numerator. Take engagement up a level with candy number lines or shaving cream desktop practice!
3. Get students moving
Fractions for kids can be fun and engaging when you incorporate movement in the classroom. Infuse movement-based activities to introduce a new skill or check for understanding at the end of a lesson. Your students can even create their own human number line to practice comparing fractions!
4. Use game-based tools
Develop fractions foundations while bringing students the challenge and interactivity they crave. Built on evidence-based practices, ExploreLearning Frax uses intuitive visual representations (like length models) to introduce the number line representation of a fraction. Throughout Frax, students actively strengthen their fraction number sense as they complete games devoted to number line understanding, including locating fractions on a number line and even estimating their location.
With Frax, fractions no longer feel like work but a fun, interactive adventure where students actively experience success! Frax missions are structured as game-based challenges, allowing students to learn by doing as they progress through carefully scaffolded tasks. Using adaptive learning, enticing visuals, customization, tokens for effort and progress, and more, Frax engages students every step of the way on their road to success in fractions.
Continue fractions learning in and out of the classroom with Frax
Teaching fractions on a number line can be traditionally difficult in a class-wide setting. Frax eliminates these barriers through individualized practice that uses the number line as the central representation tool. After a few short hours of Frax, students develop great familiarity and comfort with fractions on a number line. This serves as a springboard to more complex learning, eliminating the continuous confusion that is so well-known to teachers.
With Frax, you can reinforce concepts and assess student learning with a robust collection of offline activities. Captain's Checkpoints provide additional practice with skills from Frax missions. These collaborative, discourse-rich activities allow students to talk about fractions, verbalize their reasoning during problem-solving, and discover new strategies from peers. Frax also includes Quick Checks. These printable, brief questions help check for understanding and are perfect for exit tickets, task cards, or prompts for math discussions.
Frax also saves you time and energy with reporting features to monitor and celebrate student growth, along with professional development and digital learning communities. And the results are powerful! In a qualitative study, elementary teachers found that Frax increased test scores and learning, and students were more engaged and excited about math.
