represented in a different way. appendix 1 for pizza diagram) Teacher asks, if I have 2 pieces of pizza out of the 8 pieces, what are 2 ways of representing this? Then pizza is divided into only 4 pieces and students are asked “If I had 1 piece out of 4, would I be having the same amount as the 2 pieces out of 8?” materials or physically draw their fraction. Asked to list any equivalent fractions that there may be from their favourite fraction. See Appendix 2 (Activity Adapted from Downton et al., 2006) off one another. Ask students to justify the equivalent fractions that they have listed. asking them to represent their fraction in 3 or more ways by using concrete materials or by drawing it using set/discrete models. points about their fraction. Note down those that were unable to by using a class list to record these details. Session 2 Exploring and understanding equivalent fractions in a range of contexts and materials. Focussing on halves, quarters and eighths. Teacher models to students how to use Cuisenaire rods to make equivalent fractions. Asks students: “What is 2/4 equivalent to?” “How can you show this using Cuisenaire rods.” Explore equivalent fractions with concrete or virtual manipulatives. One group uses Cuisenaire rods to answer questions eg. “How many quarters in 2/8?” Students record their answers and draw a model. The other group explore the ICT activities on equivalent fractions. (See appendices 3 & 4) Students who explored the Cuisenaire rods can share their findings to the class by stating equivalent fractions that they have found and can draw on the board or show students using the rods. Teacher can ask “How did you find this equivalent fraction?” “Are there anymore equivalent fractions for the ones that you have found?” “Explain how do you know this?” Students experiencing difficulty with the rods or ICT tasks can be limited to using halves, or quarters to find equivalent fractions. Students who finish the ICT activities early can use another virtual manipulative which makes the connection to percentages and decimals. (See Appendix 5) Students can also be asked to list at least 10 equivalent fractions that they have Observe strategies for finding equivalent fractions eg. Were they using the rods to compare fractions to find equivalents? Anecdotal notes are written on one group of students listing their used to find equivalent fractions and how many they found.
models how to use graph paper/grid by partitioning it and labelling the fraction. Introduce task, Design a Park. “What things would we need to include in the plan?” etc. Students express equivalent fractions for each section of their park. Eg. My pond is 1/8 of the whole park or 2/16. (Adapted from: Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Website. (2010) park. Pairs can present to class discussing similarities and differences between their different site plans using equivalent fractions as evidence for similarities/differences. grid. For extension students can increase the size of their park or choose their own size. Or modifications can be made eg. “What happened if the pond flooded and doubled in size, what fraction of the whole park would it be now? could identify at least 3 similarities or differences between their park plan and their partners.