When I think about the word “rational”, I have to tell you
that “fractions” does not automatically pop into my head. Nevertheless, fractions are considered to be
“rational numbers.” I have to admit that
I have always sort of thought of the rational numbers as
the ones they threw into the system to mess us all up! However, when I really look at fractions and
how much we use them in our day to day lives, I would have to say that, yes,
they are rational. Another word for
rational, according to my Thesaurus, is “balanced”. This is a good way to look at fractions. They help to balance out the system. What if there was no such thing as a
fraction? Well, some math operations
might be easier, but how would we break wholes into parts? Having fractions to represent parts of whole
numbers helps to keep the number system all in balance! That is very rational.
How do I feel about
fractions? Well, it’s complicated…
The word rational may mean balanced, but it definitely does
not mean simple! If you are not a person
who has to worry about doing operations with fractions
on a regular basis, then it sure is easy
to forget exactly what they are. When I
haven’t had to deal with a fraction for a while, I really have to think about
how to add, subtract, multiply or divide them.
“Do the denominators
have to be the same for this one?” “Am I
just working with the numerator?” “Do I
work this one across?” “Is this the one
where I make an x?” “Which ones do I
have to flip?”
Wow! This seems so
complicated!
Making complicated relevant…
How do you teach students all of these complicated concepts so
that they will stay with them? I think
you have to make it relevant to their lives.
We use fractions every day when we measure, use money, cook, or divide
anything up into parts. Using some of
these things to help teach fractions will make it more meaningful to
students.
Another thing that can help to make fractions more relevant
is to make learning operations that are complicated more fun by using
manipulatives, games, videos, songs, jokes or rhymes (all things that kids
enjoy). Here are some fun things I found
for teaching fractions…
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