GENERAL INFORMATION

Lesson Title: Adding Fractions with Unlike Denominators

Subject: Math-Adding Fractions

Grade Level: 5^th grade

Instructional Setting:

25 mixed ability 5^th grade students in a general education classroom seated in small groupings of 3 to 4 students per table.

STANDARDS, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Common Core or State Standard:

5.C.4: Add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators, including mixed numbers (Indiana Department of Education, 2014).

Lesson objective(s):

Students will be able to add simple fractions with unlike denominators by expanding or reducing the fractions 80% of the time.

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

Instructional Materials:

Printable Fraction Strip manipulatives (found here:http://www.printable-math-worksheets.com/fraction-strips.html) enough for each group to have two sets. These need to be cut apart so students can move them around to compare fractions (unknown).

Overhead projector or document camera for direct instruction.

Smartboard or chalkboard for student demonstration.

15 copies of Adding fractions group work worksheet (created by me with word)

Several copies of the hint cards precut and ready to hand out.

27 copies of Adding Fractions Quiz (created by me with word)

Resources:

Printable fraction strips referenced above and on works cited page.

IDENTIFICATION OF STUDENT PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE SKILLS:

ENGAGEMENT –

       Students should know how to add fractions with the same denominator and how to reduce or expand a fraction. This will be reviewed with students in the introductory set. The introductory set will involve students reducing and expanding fractions and adding fractions with like denominators on the smartboard or chalkboard. Students will take turns solving and explaining to the class what they did and why. This should be review.

      After review, teacher will introduce the real world problem that follows.

      Mary hosted a birthday party for her best friend Ravleen. At the party they had two 6 foot long sub sandwiches. When the party was over there was  of  the first sub and  of the second sub left over. If the leftovers were combined what fraction would represent all of the leftovers?

This is to get the students thinking. As a class we will come back and solve this problem after the group activity.

       During this introductory set terms that will be reviewed are:

• Numerator-The number above the line in a fraction that represents the number of parts of the whole that are being considered
• Denominator- The number below the line in a fraction that represents the number of equal parts that make up the whole
• Simplest form- The form of a fraction that cannot be reduced any further

        The purpose of this lesson is to give students an introduction to adding fractions with unlike denominators. Students will use fraction strips to explore how to convert and then combine the fractions.

Purpose of Lesson for students: I can add fractions with unlike denominators.

Questions Posed by teacher at the end of engagement: How can we combine fractions that have different denominators?

PRESENTATION PROCECURES FOR NEW INFORMATION

EXPLORATION –

     For exploration students will break up into small groups of 3 or 4 students. Each group will be given a copy of the adding fractions group worksheet and two sets of fraction strip manipulatives. They will be encouraged to work on solving the problems as a group given using what they know about fractions. The teacher will have hints cards that the groups can request if they cannot figure out how to solve the problems (scaffolding). The groups will have ample time to work on the worksheet while the teacher walks around checking in with groups, answering questions and looking for groups who are on the right track.

Some guiding questions the teacher might ask are:

Can you combine denominators that are not equal? Will the result be a fraction? Why or Why not?

Is there something you can do to your fractions to be able to combine them?

EXPLANATION –

     Groups will be encouraged to share how they solved the problems on their worksheets. Teacher will prompt them to say how they used their fraction strips and how they manipulated their fractions to get two fractions with like denominators for adding. One big question to ask and explore with the class will be: Why can we not just add the two unlike denominators the way we do the numerators when they are unlike? The idea that it is important for students to grasp is that the unlike denominators stand in for unequal pieces of a whole, in order to add them they need to be equal parts of a whole first. That is the whole reason that the fractions have to be changed to fractions with like denominators. Also it is important to stress that when you change the denominator you have to change the numerator in the same way. Be sure to start with groups who grasped the concept and support their explanations with visuals on smartboard, chalkboard or document camera.

ELABORATION –

      After the groups have shared solutions and all the questions have been answered, the lesson will conclude with going back to the word problem introduced at the beginning. Each student will have an opportunity to solve the problem individually on a scrap piece of paper. Teacher will collect these. Then the class will go over it together so that everyone understands the concept of making the denominators match by expanding or reducing the fractions. The class will also talk about what they might do if both fractions have to be manipulated. This is to begin to prepare them for the next lesson which would introduce the concept of the least common denominator. Then the class will discuss other ways this might be used on a day to day basis.

E-LEARNING

Technology will be incorporated by the use of smartboard or document camera during the introductory set and the explanation stage. Also an extension activity using the virtual fraction tiles manipulative could be introduced after the group activity but before the final assessment for this lesson. This will be described during the next section.

ASSESSMENT

EVALUATION

Informal-Teacher will collect but not grade student attempts to solve word problem. She will look over these for understanding of the basic concept.

Formal-As the culminating activity of this lesson students complete the Adding Fractions with Unlike Denominators Quiz. This will consist of 10 problems similar to the ones they solved with their groups. Students will have met the objective of this lesson if they correctly solve 8 out of 10 questions.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

Differentiation strategies to meet diverse learner needs:

Students with math disability or a recognized math delay will have access to and be encouraged to use a hundreds counting chart and a multiplication chart. This way they can focus on the concept being studied and use these tools for their computations.

English Language Learners would have a math definitions journal where they would write the definition and an illustration of concept related terms like numerator and denominator.