FRACTION ACTION!

LOVE ME OR HATE ME.
I think most people can attest to the fact that they either loved fractions or hated them! Fractions were always difficult for me in school, and it is so important to know them because if you don't know the basic concept of fractions, you can't add or subtract them!

With my mother being an amazing 3rd grade teacher, I asked her what she usually does with her 3rd graders to introduce the topic. She gave me two really great fraction games that she came up with to help enhance the students understanding of the topic and to add a little fun to math!

FIRST THINGS FIRST.
Before playing any of the games, students must understand what exactly a fraction is. I thought this worksheet really broke down what a fraction means and how it can be represented.

 I think it is really important for students to understand in full what both the numerator and denominator mean. I think this worksheet makes it very kid friendly to understand.

Students would then get out wipe boards and practice fractions as a group, students would get to practice writing and drawing fractions in all different ways.

FRACTION ACTION.

Below is the math game called Fraction Action! You can see the instructions and the game board below. This basic game is super fun and really allows students to get a lot of practice with fractions with a partner.

WIPEOUT.

To take fractions to the next level, this game called Wipeout! Is a little more advanced. You can see the instructions below. As you can see, students are required to know about the shapes: hexagons, trapezoids, rhombuses, and triangles. This adds different shapes and shows how fractions can be made out of any shape, not just circles. After the fraction die is rolled, students must remove that fraction from one of their shapes. However, students also have to be strategic as they can trade pieces and the first person to loose all their pieces wins! 

EXIT TICKET.

My mom told me that she likes to do an "exit ticket" before students can move to next subject area- I was thinking an exit ticket that would align with the common core "high level of cognitive thinking" would be for students to create a real world problem involving fractions.

REFLECTION:

I really love these math games because they are both fun and engaging. They also really allow for students to show that they understand the basics of fractions. I also like how the Fraction Action game starts off relatively basic, but then gets more complicated in the second game by adding different shapes. I also know that my mom has used these in her classroom for many years, which means it is effective with the children. I can't wait to follow in my mom's footsteps and use this in the classroom! I hope you guys like it!