Farming Fractions

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  General Lesson Plan

• Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?

  
  
  1. The students will be able to use a 100's grid to plant a ten-row vegetable garden with four kinds of vegetables.
  2. Students will write equivalent fractions and decimals for the part of the garden in which each vegetable is planted. The decimals will then be written in expanded form.

• Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?

  
  

  The student should know/understand:

  • that a fraction is a representation of a part of a whole
  • the part-whole meaning of fractional parts
  • the meaning of Numerator & Denominator in a fraction
  • that decimals are made from fractions with denominators of 10 or 100
  • that digits to the left are ten times as great; digits to the right are 1/10 the value
  • writing numbers in expanded form

• Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?

  
  

  Guiding questions should include:

  1. How can we record parts of the whole if dealing with 10ths or 100ths?
  2. How do we know fractional and decimal amounts are equivalent?
  3. Why is knowing different notations important?
  4. How can we model these fractions and decimals?

• Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?

  
  

  The teacher will:

  1. distribute the formative assessment (attachment). Have students shade 3/10 and 7/10 on the 10's grid and then write the values as a fraction and a decimal. Check student work by circulating the room.
  2. have the students shade 25/100 and 87/100 on the 100's grids and then write the values as a fraction and a decimal.
  3. provide feedback, praise, and coaching with guided questions (if necessary).
  4. For students who successfully complete the formative assessment task, they will work together in a small group and complete an alternative activity in which they compare decimals to decimals as well as decimals to fractions (alternative activity). You will need to print, cut, and laminate these task cards and have students use dry erase markers to do the activity.

• Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?

  
  
  1. Students are brought to the carpet/floor at the front of the room.
  2. The teacher displays a 100's grid and a key legend on chart paper (attached anchor chart). Explain that we are planting a garden of flowers. As the boxes are shaded, count the numbers with an excited voice - encouraging the students to join in.
  3. Begin the chart with 24 roses. Using a red marker, shade the first 24 squares red. Guide the students to identify the fraction of roses as 24/100.
  4. Have a student volunteer come to the chart and color 18 daisies. Have that volunteer call on another student to identify the fraction of daisies as 18/100.
  5. Have another student volunteer come to the chart and color 30 tulips. Have that student call on someone else to identify the fraction of tulips as 30/100.
  6. Select a student volunteer to come to the chart and color the final 28 squares that represent the bluebells. Have the whole group identify the final fraction as 28/100.
  7. At the bottom of the anchor chart discuss using the place value table to identify the decimal for the roses.
  8. It is important for students to see the structure of the place value system and that decimal amounts follow patterns of whole numbers in that each digit to the right is 1/10 the previous amount. Sample discussion questions could be:
     1. How many rows are in the entire garden? (10)
     2. How much of the garden is just one row? (1/10).
     3. What is another way to think of that amount? (10/100).
     4. Let's record how we say each of those. Is there another way to record these amounts besides words or fraction? (If no answer ask, "What if it were money?")
     5. I see you colored 24 squares for the roses. How many complete rows would that make? (2) How would we record that? (2/10 or 20/100 or 0.2 or 0.20) Why is that? Is that all of the roses? (no) What else remains? (4 more roses). How would we record the remaining roses? (4/100; 0.04). Continue similar questioning for the other flowers.
  9. Model writing the decimal value of the roses in expanded form: 0 + 0.2 + 0.04 - again noting that each digit to the right is 1/10 the previous amount.
  10. Have student volunteers give the expanded forms of the other values - ask for student agreement (thumbs up, etc.)
  11. Provide feedback, praise, and coach with guiding questions as needed.

• Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the lesson?

  
  
  1. Students return to their desks.
  2. The teacher will distribute the Farming Fractions activity sheet (attachment).
  3. Students will need the following crayons/markers/colored pencils:
     • red
     • yellow
     • orange
     • green
  4. Instruct students that they are to "plant" a garden on their papers. The colors represent the vegetables that will be in the garden.
  5. The students will color the grids any way they choose - some will get very creative!!
  6. When the student has finished coloring the grid, he/she needs to write the fraction, decimal, and expanded form for each vegetable ON THE BACK OF THE PAPER - where it cannot be seen.
  7. The students then switch papers with their shoulder partners. The partner completes the bottom portion of the paper.
  8. Partners give the papers back and check each other's answers.
  9. Praise and coach with guiding questions as needed.

• Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?

  
  

  Bring the students back to the carpet area (front) and discuss:

  1. What they learned from the activity?
  2. Ways we could/would use fractions in everyday life?
  3. What types of jobs would include using fractions - how?

• Summative Assessment

  
  
  • The teacher will administer the EXIT SLIP for each student to complete. The teacher will check for student understanding by evaluating students' EXIT SLIPS (attachment).
  • Also, the teacher can pose questions to students to gauge their understanding of writing fractions as decimals.

• Formative Assessment

  
  
  • Students are given a formative assessment (attachment) containing 10's and 100's grids.
  • The teacher calls out various fractional amounts - which students shade on the appropriate grids.
  • Students then represent the shaded amount in both fraction and decimal form.
  • Teacher circulates to evaluate student responses and use this information to guide further instruction.

• Feedback to Students

  
  
  • Students will receive feedback during the Guided Practice portion of the lesson when completing the tasks of coloring the chart, identifying the fractional parts, writing the corresponding decimal, and representing the decimal in expanded form.
  • They will also receive feedback, when asked questions, to gauge their understanding during the independent "Farming" activity.
  • If students are making errors, the teacher can provide thought-provoking questions and suggestions to guide students to think about their fractions. (see Guiding Questions section)