Algebra Readiness Intervention
Unit: Operations with Fractions
Day 4 Lesson
Objective
Students will divide fractions.
Materials
•
•
•
•
Chart paper
Markers
“Problem Solving Groupwork/Sketch to Stretch” resource sheets
“Closure Prompts” resource sheets (one half sheet per student)
Warm-Up: “Scenario of the Day” (10 minutes)
Present this situation to your students:
“You are making a strawberry lemonade punch for your party. You will use
1
-gallon jugs of lemonade as the base of the punch. How many
2
1
7
-gallon jugs will you need to fill the punch bowl up to full? DO NOT SOLVE.”
2
8
!
!
First ask students what they need to find out. Gather their ideas on the board or chart
paper (how to divide the punch bowl, how many jugs will fit in the punch bowl, etc). Tell
! how the punch bowl would be divided
students to design an illustration that might show
into eighths. Then have them show on the illustration how they might add the
1
-gallon jug component.
2
Problem-Solving Groupwork/Sketch to Stretch (15 minutes)
!
Place students into groups of three or four. Each group will receive a question similar to
the scenario of the day. Groups should then create illustrations using their pencils and
markers on chart paper to show how to represent the scenario and show how they might
solve the question. Have groups hang the illustrations on the wall.
Poster Presentations (15 minutes)
Each group will then present their illustrations to the class. The class will walk from
poster to poster and listen to the presentations. The teacher and student listeners will
have the opportunity to pose questions to the presenting group.
Solving the Scenario (15 minutes)
!
After students have made illustrations and presented their ideas, the students will go back
to their seats. Return back to the scenario of the day and have students refer to the
drawings they created. Lead students to writing out the problem as a math question:
7 1
÷ . Show students how to divide the fractions based on the example on page 104 of
8 2
Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics Grades 5-8 by Van de Walle and Lovin.
Students will be dividing fractions by writing the equation as a product with a missing
7
1
fraction:
=
" . To solve this equation, you will need to multiply both sides by
8
2
1
14
7
the reciprocal of , which leads to the rule of “invert and multiply.” (Answer:
or .)
2
8
4
!
!
Skill Builder (20 minutes)
!
!
Put students
into pairs. Each pair of students will solve the poster questions,
using the
method presented in Solving the Scenario. The teacher should monitor pairs as they
solve the situations.
Answers: 1. 6
2. 18
3. 8
4.
18
5
5.
3
20
Closure (10 minutes)
! posters,!have one person in the class restate the math
Refer back to the questions on the
question and the answer.
Have students respond to the prompts about dividing fractions.
Problem-Solving Groupwork/Sketch to Stretch
Scenario 1
1
3
Jane has 4 of a pie. Don has a pie cut into 8 slices.
How many of Don’s slices will fit into Jane’s pie?
Scenario 2
Keith has a 12 inch piece of rope. He must create
2
pieces that are 3 inch long for his project. How
many pieces can he make?
Scenario 3
Cathy bought a 6 pound bag of candy to fill gift bags
3
for her party. If each bag holds 4 lb. of candy, how
many bags can she fill?
Scenario 4
9
Jimmy’s chocolate bar has 10 foot remaining. If he
1
is snacking on 4 inch pieces, how many snacks can
he have?
Scenario 5
3
George has 4 of his birthday cake remaining. His
four friends are coming to visit. How much of the
remaining cake will each person (including George)
get to eat?
Closure Prompts
I am still
going
around
about…
One
point
I’d like
to make
is…
Closure Prompts
I am still
going
around
about…
One
point
I’d like
to make
is…