BIG IDEA MODULE

BIM: Understanding Fractions

ELD 375 Sarah Jacobs Kelly Collova Alicia Govannicci 1

BIG IDEA MODULE

Focus Problem

Grandma Sally loves baking breakfast muffins. She just recently found a new recipe for blue berry muffins. Grandma Sally is so excited to bake the muffins for her grandchildren! She took out all the ingredients but realized she was missing some of the measuring cups. She only has measuring cups.

Grandma Sally realizes this is a huge problem because she needs: o cups of flour. o o cup of granulated sugar cups of blue berries

BIG IDEA MODULE

What measuring cups does Grandma Sally have to use in order to get the exact measurements she needs to make the recipe?

What is the least number of scopes that she can use in order to get cup of sugar?

Show your work and explain your process. Be prepared to justify your answer. You may use any manipulatives or drawings to help you. Make sure to have your explanation in written form as well:

Explain the reason why you decided to use the method that you did:

BIG IDEA MODULE

Knowing all you have learned previously about fractions, are there other methods you could have used to figure out the problem? Describe your answer and show an example of the other method(s).

BIG IDEA MODULE

Materials Needed For BIM Materials: Muffin problem Sandwich worksheet Pencil Eraser Dot paper Pattern Blocks Pencil Scrap paper

BIG IDEA MODULE

Understanding Fractions:
Halves and Quarters

Early Elementary School Activity Grades K-1

6

BIG IDEA MODULE

Lucys favorite meal of the day is lunch. She takes the same sandwich to lunch everyday. Her mother likes to cut her sandwich into two equal pieces. How many ways can Lucys mother cut her sandwich into equal pieces? Or is there only one way for her mother to cut her sandwich into equal pieces? Explain your answers. Materials: Sandwich square worksheet Pencil Eraser Dot paper

Using the dot paper, draw each equal cut that Lucys mother can make in the sandwich.

BIG IDEA MODULE

How many different ways can Lucys mother cut the sandwich?

Does each way represent equal pieces? The next day Lucy was wondering if she can cut her sandwich into four equal pieces called quarters. Can a square be broken up into four equal pieces? If so how many ways can she share her sandwich with four friends, so they have equal pieces?

BIG IDEA MODULE

Draw the lines on the squares below to represent the different ways Lucy can make four equal pieces.

BIG IDEA MODULE

10

BIG IDEA MODULE

Understanding Fractions:
Multiplying Fractions to Find Equivalence

Middle Elementary School Activity Grades 2-3

11

BIG IDEA MODULE

Harry had some friends over for a day full of sled riding and snowball fighting! At different times throughout the day, his friends had to take a break and go inside to warm up. Harrys mom had cocoa mix and warm water to make hot chocolate with so that they can warm up. For each cup of hot chocolate, the kids needed to add 1 cup of warm water to the cocoa mix, but they got tired of waiting their turn to use the 1 cup measuring cup. Instead, some kids decided to use these measuring cups: . Using any combination of those measuring cups, how many different ways can you find to make 1 cup?

12

BIG IDEA MODULE

How did you organize your ideas to make sure that you thought of all the combinations?

Did you seem to use one measuring cup most often? Why?

What other measuring cups would be useful?

13

BIG IDEA MODULE

What if you needed 2 cups of warm water? Now, how many different kinds of measurements can you use?

14

BIG IDEA MODULE

Understanding Fractions:
Finding Equivalent Fractions

Upper Elementary School Activity Grades 4-5

15

BIG IDEA MODULE

Julie built the following picture of a flower using pattern blocks. She made the flower for her schools pattern building competition. The winner of the competition will get to go on a math class field trip.

Materials: Pattern Blocks Pencil

16

BIG IDEA MODULE

How many green blocks can you fit into the yellow block?

How many green blocks can you fit into the red block?

How many green blocks would Julie need if she wanted the make the whole flower out of green?

What fraction part of the flower are made out of green blocks?

17

BIG IDEA MODULE

If Julie were to make the flower out of all blue blocks how many would she need?

Common Core State Standards

18

BIG IDEA MODULE

Big Idea Module: Understanding Fractions The activities presented in our groups BIM are all related to the concept of fractions. The objective of the focus problem is to be able to multiply fractions and recognize equivalent fractions. The focus problem is geared towards students in sixth grade. The problem deals with having the students help Grandma Sally figure out what measuring cups she can use to make the blueberry muffins. Grandma Sally does not have the exact measuring cups that the recipe ingredients, the students will have to know how to multiply fractions to find the equivalent measurement of each ingredient needed to make the blueberry muffin recipe. The objective for the kindergarten and first grade problem is to understand that a whole can be divided into equal parts in different ways. The problem focuses on dividing a whole into halves, fourths, and quarters. The problem introduces the concept of fractions and fraction terminology to students. The students will be able to find out by doing their own exploration, how different equal halves and quarters are represented. The problem will stimulate some higher order thinking about whether or not they can make halves or quarters using different types of lines other than a straight line. The objective for the second and third grade problem is the same objective as the focus problem objective. In contrast to the focus problem, this problem has the students multiplying fractions using more friendly fractions. In this problem, the students are given four different measuring cups that are less than one cup. They need to figure out different ways they can use the smaller measuring cups to equal one cup. The students should multiply the fractions to

19

BIG IDEA MODULE figure out how many different ways they can make hot chocolate using the smaller measuring cups. In the fourth and fifth grade upper elementary school problem the objective is for the students to find the equivalent shape using different size pattern blocks. The students will be given a picture of a flower that is made out of the three different size blocks and will be asked to use the pattern blocks as manipultives to answer the questions. For example, the students should recognize that six small green triangle blocks are equal to one large yellow hexagon block. The problem mostly builds off the kindergarten and first grade problem because the students are using smaller equal parts to make a whole. In this problem the students are also expanding their fraction terminology. Through the BIM, we have the students exploring different methods in order to solve the focus problem. The objective for each problem connects and leads up to the objective in the focus problem, which is multiplying fractions and finding equivalent fractions. Within all of these problems, the students are explaining their thinking and justifying their answer with concrete evidence either with pictures, using pattern blocks, or any other concept that works best for them.

20

BIG IDEA MODULE

Common Core State Standards: Early Elementary: Grade 1: Geometry: Reason with shapes and their attributes o CCSS.Math.Content.1.G.A.3 Partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares, describe the shares using the words, halves, fourths, and quarters, and use the phrases half of, fourth of, and quarter of. Describe the whole as two of, or four of the shares. Understand for these examples that decomposing into the more equal shares creates small shares. o This standard supports our kindergarten and first grade problem. The problem has the students divide the square (the sandwich) into equal halves and fourths. The problem also introduces students to the fraction terminology halves, fourths, and quarters. The problem encourages students to state their answers using this terminology and therefore supports this standard. In the problem the students are investigating how to cut Lucys sandwich in order to have equal shares and figure out how many equal cuts can be made in the sandwich. Middle Elementary: Grade 3: Numbers and Operations Fractions: Develop understanding of fractions as numbers o CCSS.Math.Content.3.NF.A.3 Explain equivalence of fractions in special cases, and compare fractions by reasoning about their size.

21

BIG IDEA MODULE o This standard develops an understanding of fractions as numbers and requires an understanding of how fractions are equivalent. The problem in our BIM relates to this standard because it asks for students to compare fractions to find equivalent fractions by using small measuring cups. The problem also asks for students to come up with different combinations to make equal measurements. Upper Elementary: Grade 4: Numbers and Operations-Fractions: Extend understanding of fraction equivalence and ordering. o CCSS.Math.Content.4.NF.2 Compare two fractions with different numerators and different denominators, e.g., by creating common denominators or numerators, or by comparing to a benchmark fraction such as . Recognize that comparisons are valid only when the two fractions refer to the same whole. Record the results of comparisons with symbols >,=,or <, and justify the conclusions, e.g., using a visual fraction model. o This standard supports our fourth and fifth grade problem. In this problem we have the students find equivalent shapes using different size pattern blocks. In the problem, we encourage the students to provide their answers using greater than, less than, and equal to symbols to represent if the shapes are equivalent to each. Middle School (Focus Question): Grade 6: The Number System: Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to divide fractions by fractions.

22

BIG IDEA MODULE o CCSS.Math.Content.6. NS.1 Interpret and compute quotients of fractions, and solve word problems involving division of fractions by fractions, e.g., by using visual fractions models and equations to represent the problem. o The focus problem is supported by this sixth grade standard. Students will apply and extend previous understanding of multiplication and division of fractions to this problem. The problem starts off with Grandma Sally baking breakfast muffins for her grandchildren. She realizes that she is missing some of the measuring cups and only has a select few. She needs cups of flour, cup of granulated sugar, and cups of blue berries. Students should recognize that

they will need to multiply or divide the measurements of the given measuring cups in order to add the correct amount of the ingredients to the recipe.

23