This cluster includes the following access points.
Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this topic.
| Name |
Description |
| Equivalent Fractions on a Number Line: | Students scale number lines to locate given fractions, find equivalent fractions, and explain the relationship between equivalent fractions. |
| Equivalence Using A Number Line: | Students use a number line to explain that one-half is equivalent to two-fourths. |
| Eating Cake: | Students draw a visual fraction model to determine whether two fractions are equivalent. |
| Corn Farms: | Students compare two fractions with unlike denominators in the context of a word problem and record the comparison using an inequality symbol. |
| Comparing Fractions Using Benchmark Fractions: | Students compare two fractions using benchmark fractions on a number line and record the comparison using the less than or greater than symbol. |
| Comparing Four-Fifths and Three-Fourths: | Students consider the correctness of a model for comparing four-fifths to three-fourths. |
| Compare Fractions: | Students are given three sets of fractions to compare and are asked to record the comparisons using the less than, greater than, or equal to symbols. |
| Are the Fractions Equivalent: | Students partition squares to model two fractions and then determine if the fractions are equivalent. |
| Name |
Description |
| Majority Rules: | Students will use the benchmark fraction ½ to estimate and compare fractions and make a connection to achieving a simple majority when voting during this integrated lesson. |
| The Alternative Recipe: | The students follow a scaffold model starting with using concrete models of fractions with the fraction tiles to create equivalent fractions, and then by using prior knowledge of multiples to develop the algorithm for creating equivalent fractions. The algorithm noted here is based on the identity property of multiplying a fraction times a fraction so you are multiplying by 2/2 or 3/3. |
| Gardening In Schools: | This Model Eliciting Activity is written at a 4th grade level. In this open-ended problem, students must consider how to rank potting soil based on factors like fraction of ingredients, price, and eco-friendliness. In teams, students determine their procedures and write letters back to the client.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx |
| The Cookie Jar Wants a New Cookie!: | This lesson asks students to recommend which cookie the owners of The Cookie Jar should add to their menu. Before they make their decision, the students have to convert fractions so they have like denominators. Once they have converted the fractions they will be able to see exactly how many people voted for each cookie and they can factor in that information along with additional cookie facts to make their final recommendation. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Fractions: Let's Compare: | The lesson is an application and extension of fraction comparison strategies, not an introduction. While the beginning of the lesson has a review, the situational stories require students to read and analyze carefully. |
| Comparing Fractions with Cupcakes: | In this MEA, students will compare fractions with different denominators to decide which cupcake a bakery should add to their menu. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Create a Quilt - Equivalent Fractions: | In this lesson, students will apply their knowledge of identifying and creating equivalent fractions. The use of tiles allows a visual check of their equivalent fraction creations using parts of a set. |
| Wondrous Water Parks: | This activity requires students to apply their knowledge of unit conversions, speed calculation, and comparing fractions to solve the problem of which water park their class should choose to go on for their 5th grade class trip. |
| Fraction Land II: | This is an application lesson for the students’ knowledge of how to identify or create equivalent fractions. After a review, they are expected to multiply or divide to create equivalent fractions. |
| Fraction Land: | This lesson uses paper strips to show equivalent fractions. It discusses what happens to the denominator and numerator as students learn to multiply to make equivalent fractions. It is part of a series about identifying and creating equivalent fractions. All lessons in the series share the Fraction Land title and are available on CPALMS. |
| Amazing Alice Cookies: | Students will help Amazing Alice Cookies choose the perfect chocolate chip brand to use for their cookies. Students will be given data in the form of fractions and decimals. Fourth grade students will compare decimals and order and compare fractions. Students will write a letter describing their procedure to the client. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Out of Order?: | This lesson is a way for students to use benchmark fractions to get a conceptual understanding of comparing and ordering fractions. |
| "What's the part? What's the whole?": | This lesson provides a conceptual approach to multiplying a fraction times a whole number and a whole number times a fraction. Students are to use an understanding of the meaning of the denominator and numerator to figure out a strategy for finding the solution. |
| Equivalent Fraction Dominoes: | Students will identify equivalent fractions to 1/2 using manipulatives and determine what happened to the numerator and denominator when an equivalent fraction was formed. They will practice this idea by identifying equivalent fractions in a domino game. |
| Fraction Line-up!: | Students will model and compare fraction pairs by writing an inequality. |
| Gettin' Fancy with Fractions: | In this lesson, students engage in problem solving, a fraction sort activity and play the game "Fraction War" to practice and demonstrate understanding of using benchmark quantities when comparing fractions with different numerators and denominators. This lesson is not intended as initial instruction on using benchmark quantities to compare fractions. Instead, it may be useful for skill reinforcement, student engagement, and formative assessment of skill mastery. Parts of this lesson could be revisited periodically as students build comfort and mastery comparing fractions. |
| The Brownie Breakdown: | This lesson demonstrates the relationships between equivalent fractions and the size of the pieces that represent the fractions. The lesson moves from concrete activities to pictorial representations. The lesson begins by using a pan of brownies to represent equivalent fractions. The brownies will help to engage students as the lesson moves from the concrete to the pictorial representation of equivalent fractions. |
| Chocolate Fractions: | Chocolate bars will be used to introduce equivalent fractions. Students will find patterns for equivalent fractions through the concrete-representational-abstract process. |
| Equivalent Fraction Dominoes: | Students will identify equivalent fractions to 1/2 using manipulatives and determine what happened to the numerator and denominator when an equivalent fraction was formed. They will practice this idea by identifying equivalent fractions in a domino game. |
| Ordering Fractions: | Students work in groups to arrange sets of fraction cards from least to greatest using multiple strategies. Fractions include those greater than one. |
| Party Entertainment: | In this MEA, students will decide which entertainer an owner of an entertainment company should hire. They will base their decisions on information provided on resumes. Students will calculate the cost of hiring the entertainer (multiplication of whole numbers) as well as compare the statistics of their talent competitions and attendance turn-out (comparing fractions). Students will write letters to the owner of the entertainment company ranking the entertainers and providing explanation and justification of their strategy for doing so. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Name |
Description |
| Listing fractions in increasing size: | The fractions for this task have been carefully chosen to encourage and reward different methods of comparison. The first solution judiciously uses each of the following strategies when appropriate: comparing to benchmark fractions, finding a common denominator, finding a common numerator. The second and third solution shown use only either common denominators or numerators. Teachers should encourage multiple approaches to solving the problem. This task is mostly intended for instructional purposes, although it has value as a formative assessment item as well. |
| Explaining Fraction Equivalence with Pictures: | The purpose of this task is to provide students with an opportunity to explain fraction equivalence through visual models in a particular example. Students will need more opportunities to think about fraction equivalence with different examples and models, but this task represents a good first step. |
| Comparing two different pizzas: | The focus of this task is on understanding that fractions, in an explicit context, are fractions of a specific whole. In this this problem there are three different wholes: the medium pizza, the large pizza, and the two pizzas taken together. This task is best suited for instruction. Students can practice explaining their reasoning to each other in pairs or as part of a whole group discussion. |
| Comparing Sums of Unit Fractions: | The purpose of this task is to help develop students' understanding of addition of fractions; it is intended as an instructional task. Notice that students are not asked to find the sum so this may be given to students who are limited to computing sums of fractions with the same denominator. Rather, they need to apply a firm understanding of unit fractions (fractions with one in the numerator) and reason about their relative size. |
| Using Benchmarks to Compare Fractions: | This task is intended primarily for instruction. The goal is to provide examples for comparing two fractions, 1/5 and 2/7 in this case, by finding a benchmark fraction which lies in between the two. In Melissa's example, she chooses 1/4 as being larger than 1/5 and smaller than 2/7. |
| Running Laps: | The purpose of this task is for students to compare two fractions that arise in a context. Because the fractions are equal, students need to be able to explain how they know that. Some students might stop at the second-to-last picture and note that it looks like they ran the same distance, but the explanation is not yet complete at that point. |
Vetted resources students can use to learn the concepts and skills in this topic.
| Title |
Description |
| Listing fractions in increasing size: | The fractions for this task have been carefully chosen to encourage and reward different methods of comparison. The first solution judiciously uses each of the following strategies when appropriate: comparing to benchmark fractions, finding a common denominator, finding a common numerator. The second and third solution shown use only either common denominators or numerators. Teachers should encourage multiple approaches to solving the problem. This task is mostly intended for instructional purposes, although it has value as a formative assessment item as well. |
| Explaining Fraction Equivalence with Pictures: | The purpose of this task is to provide students with an opportunity to explain fraction equivalence through visual models in a particular example. Students will need more opportunities to think about fraction equivalence with different examples and models, but this task represents a good first step. |
| Comparing two different pizzas: | The focus of this task is on understanding that fractions, in an explicit context, are fractions of a specific whole. In this this problem there are three different wholes: the medium pizza, the large pizza, and the two pizzas taken together. This task is best suited for instruction. Students can practice explaining their reasoning to each other in pairs or as part of a whole group discussion. |
| Comparing Sums of Unit Fractions: | The purpose of this task is to help develop students' understanding of addition of fractions; it is intended as an instructional task. Notice that students are not asked to find the sum so this may be given to students who are limited to computing sums of fractions with the same denominator. Rather, they need to apply a firm understanding of unit fractions (fractions with one in the numerator) and reason about their relative size. |
| Using Benchmarks to Compare Fractions: | This task is intended primarily for instruction. The goal is to provide examples for comparing two fractions, 1/5 and 2/7 in this case, by finding a benchmark fraction which lies in between the two. In Melissa's example, she chooses 1/4 as being larger than 1/5 and smaller than 2/7. |
| Running Laps: | The purpose of this task is for students to compare two fractions that arise in a context. Because the fractions are equal, students need to be able to explain how they know that. Some students might stop at the second-to-last picture and note that it looks like they ran the same distance, but the explanation is not yet complete at that point. |
Vetted resources caregivers can use to help students learn the concepts and skills in this topic.
| Title |
Description |
| Listing fractions in increasing size: | The fractions for this task have been carefully chosen to encourage and reward different methods of comparison. The first solution judiciously uses each of the following strategies when appropriate: comparing to benchmark fractions, finding a common denominator, finding a common numerator. The second and third solution shown use only either common denominators or numerators. Teachers should encourage multiple approaches to solving the problem. This task is mostly intended for instructional purposes, although it has value as a formative assessment item as well. |
| Explaining Fraction Equivalence with Pictures: | The purpose of this task is to provide students with an opportunity to explain fraction equivalence through visual models in a particular example. Students will need more opportunities to think about fraction equivalence with different examples and models, but this task represents a good first step. |
| Comparing two different pizzas: | The focus of this task is on understanding that fractions, in an explicit context, are fractions of a specific whole. In this this problem there are three different wholes: the medium pizza, the large pizza, and the two pizzas taken together. This task is best suited for instruction. Students can practice explaining their reasoning to each other in pairs or as part of a whole group discussion. |
| Comparing Sums of Unit Fractions: | The purpose of this task is to help develop students' understanding of addition of fractions; it is intended as an instructional task. Notice that students are not asked to find the sum so this may be given to students who are limited to computing sums of fractions with the same denominator. Rather, they need to apply a firm understanding of unit fractions (fractions with one in the numerator) and reason about their relative size. |
| Using Benchmarks to Compare Fractions: | This task is intended primarily for instruction. The goal is to provide examples for comparing two fractions, 1/5 and 2/7 in this case, by finding a benchmark fraction which lies in between the two. In Melissa's example, she chooses 1/4 as being larger than 1/5 and smaller than 2/7. |
| Running Laps: | The purpose of this task is for students to compare two fractions that arise in a context. Because the fractions are equal, students need to be able to explain how they know that. Some students might stop at the second-to-last picture and note that it looks like they ran the same distance, but the explanation is not yet complete at that point. |
