Expert's Corner: Fractions

Thom O'Brien has been with ExploreLearning for eight years in a variety of roles, including working with teachers to integrate Gizmos into more effective teaching in math and science. Thom has a Master's degree in Instructional Mathematics and he taught 7th grade math before joining EL.

Fractions are one of the most frequent lessons in a young student's education. Many schools introduce them in grade 2 and continue to teach fraction concepts through grade 7. In fact, the NCTM Focal Points document (2006) and the National Math Advisory Panel (2008) have both recommended that teachers spend larger portions of their time teaching this valuable topic.

Conceptual understanding of fractions is important because they play a pivotal role in higher-level mathematics. Teachers' toolkits for explaining fractions include such diverse resources as pattern blocks, egg cartons, Cuisenaire rods and candy bars. In order to build conceptual foundations, students need to "see" fractions through a variety of different models.

Gizmos are particularly well suited to helping teachers move through fraction models effectively and efficiently. ExploreLearning has many Gizmos devoted to fractions that help teachers provide multiple representations of the concept.

Here are some great Gizmos to try with your students. The Toy Factory Gizmo can be used to demonstrate fractions as a part of a whole or part of a set. The Comparing and Ordering Fractions and Fraction Garden Gizmos can be used to help students compare fractions and set the building blocks in place for adding and subtracting fractions. Also, Gizmos such as Multiplying Fractions and Multiplying Mixed Numbers help students learn to multiply fractions.

Using Gizmos when studying fractions allows teachers to concentrate on building students’ conceptual understanding. Gizmos allow students to evaluate pictorial representations of sets, manipulate numerators and denominators, and bridge the symbolic fractional representation with the abstract understanding of fractional numeric value.