Thursday, February 21, 2013

Ordering and Comparing Fractions



               This week in math we have been ordering and comparing fractions, which is a very difficult concept!  We have used fractions strips as models, drawn illustrations, used number lines with benchmark fractions, and today we learned how to use cross multiplication to compare.  The task we completed today was to order fractions with unlike denominators from least to greatest.  When putting them in order, we looked to see which fractions would equal a whole or a half to use as a guide.  Then we could easily sort whether they were greater than a half or less than a half.  This was definitely a "productive struggle" task for our students, but I feel it was a great task for student-led learning!