This morning my mother and I spent some time looking at old 5th and 6th grade textbooks to see how fraction multiplication and division has been taught over the years. We were surprised to find an impressive gap when it came to teaching fraction division. But before we left, I discovered a new resource that I am very excited about!
Author: Cindy Ticknor
Motivational Cards for Fraction Division
I recently stumbled across a great and easy fraction division lesson from Indonesia. Children created motivational cards while learning fraction division.
A Recipe for Fractions
If you cook, you use fractions. So why not use cooking to teach fractions? During the holidays my favorite recipes feed a small army, and when I’m cutting them in half, it always reminds me that cooking in an American kitchen uses plenty of fractions. That’s why I couldn’t resist adding a recipe to the […]
Diversity, Comic Books & Math
Thanks to Google’s search image that reminded me that this is not just another day off, I was inspired to read about diversity and comic books to celebrate Dr. King’s birthday. So with a warm cup of tea in hand, I stumbled across the work of Edel Reilly, who creatively asked her students to make […]
Teacher Gifts for Fraction Lovers!
As I was doing my holiday shopping, I couldn’t help but be a little self-indulgent and look around for cool books and classroom tools for teaching fractions. As a former teacher, I would often wish Santa would bring me cool toys to test and use in my classroom. So, if you’re looking for a few […]
Multiplication: Lost in Translation?
A recent task I developed used visual models of multiplication involving a unit fraction. Can you match visual models with the expressions ⅓ x 12, ⅓ of 12 or 12 x ⅓? Who would have guessed that creating this task would send me on a hunt through time and continents for the first definitions of multiplication, multiplier, and multiplicand?
Superpowers for Math Lessons: Writing
With mounting pressures of high stakes testing and pacing guides, often teachers find it difficult to add math writing tasks to daily lessons without leaving something valuable out. According to a study published this year, teachers don’t have to choose. Writing is a superpower when teaching fractions!
Keep, Change, Flip: Are Algorithms our Frenemies?
In our zest to have children learn math deeply and creatively, professional math educators sometimes give the impression that algorithms are the enemy. In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth.
Why is Fraction Arithmetic So Hard AND Important!
I recently stumbled upon the work of Robert Siegler, a professor of cognitive psychology at Carnegie Mellon University who is working with several colleagues to determine why fraction arithmetic is so difficult. Of course, all the researchers he’s worked with should also be acknowledged (see below), but this is one of those times you read […]
A Fraction-Algebra Sandwich
Peck and Matassa (2016) recently published a research paper that reinforced why fraction division and multiplication is such an important topic for children to master. We often hear that understanding fractions is a gateway to learning algebra, and these authors offered some pretty compelling reasons why that’s the case. Before we get to the study, […]