Are you teaching fraction operations in middle school (or reteaching fraction concepts when they pop up in middle school?)
Are you always looking for fraction content or fraction teaching tips?
I’m here to help! I’ve decided to do something I’ve never done on my blog:
- Since I have so many fraction-related posts for upper elementary and middle school math, I’ve added a couple of new ‘summary’ posts as a kind of index.
- One post (this one) will include posts about teaching fraction concepts, and the other will summarize the posts about fraction games and activities.
So, let’s get to the fraction content posts.
The first and newest is the series of foundational fraction posts.
- Many of these posts include a free download or two. You can access the downloads by registering for the free Fraction Review Toolkit.
The posts in the fraction operations series include:
1) Teaching Fractions in Middle School: Reviewing the Basics
- In this post, we talk about the need that always seems to pop up – the need to review certain fraction concepts before moving on to your specific fraction curriculum.
- We review the meanings of fraction terms, how to represent fractions, and a few ways to weave fractions into class even when you aren’t teaching fraction concepts.
2) Teaching Fractions in Middle School: Using Models
- This post addresses the progression of fraction skills through the elementary grades up to 5th grade (and beyond).
- I share a few examples of using fraction models when adding and subtracting fractions and explore a combination of number lines & fraction strips.
3) Teaching Fractions: Benchmarking and Estimation
- As the title indicates, this post focuses on using benchmarks, explores the 4th grade benchmark standard, and includes examples of how to use estimation when adding fractions.
4) Teaching Fraction Operations in Middle School: Finding Equivalent Fractions
- Equivalent fractions are in many situations, and we look at several of these in this post.
- We look at three ways to find common denominators in order to create equivalent fractions, and we explore representations of equivalent fractions.
Fraction Operations in Middle School Content
In addition to the fraction series, I’ve written a few other fraction-related posts over the past several years.
Using the Ladder Method to Find LCD
This method of finding the least common denominator is a favorite of mine because it includes the ladder method. It outlines the steps for finding the least common denominator and explains how this method has been helpful to students.
This post focuses on teaching fraction division using the common denominator method, explaining why this method works, and explaining how my 6th grade students respond to the method.
Teaching Multiplication of Fractions and Mixed Numbers
- Multiplying mixed numbers can be tricky! Breaking it down with students can be so much fun.
- This post shares a common mistake students make, explains the numerical ‘breakdown’ of a problem, and shows the breakdown using different representations.
Why NOT use the butterfly method when adding and subtracting fractions?
- I’ve had some pretty interesting experiences with the butterfly method in 6th grade math. This post shares how I learned about this method and how my students used it.
Want even more (there’s so much more!) fraction and fraction operation content and materials all in one place?
Check out the program Fractions: From Foundations to Operations.
