Michelle Yee

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Fraction City

Fraction City Student Work

To make reviewing fractions fun and memorable, I taught the fourth and fifth grade how to play Fraction City.  Each student built a game board (see picture) by folding "streets" into specific fractions.  First street had no fold and was marked "1/1."  Second street had one fold in the middle and was marked "1/2" at the fold and "2/2" at the end.  Third street was folded in thirds, marked "1/3," "2/3," and "3/3" and so on through all of the streets.

To play the game, students each had two toy cars for markers.  I'd call out, "Drive two blocks on Fourth Street, and one block on Second Street."  The object of the game was to see which car went the furthest.  Notice that one block on Second (1/2) is equal to two blocks on Fourth (2/4 or 1/2).

Giant Multiplication Chart

The students came in to find a 6' x 6' blank multiplication chart on the wall.  They were instructed to fill in the blank coordinates with arrays cut from graph paper, and to write the equations on the array in the correct order (row x column = answer).  I was pleased to help one student "see" the arrays.  He just couldn't get the order correct - until he stood back and held the array up to the giant chart.  He turned the array until it matched the shape made by on the chart.  He was so happy.  "I see it!"  I'll never forget his smile.
Author: Michelle Yee
Last modified: 4/14/2008 8:43 AM (EST)