Fractions

RATIONALE:
I am teaching this lesson because students should be able to recognize that circles can be divided into equal sections. They should also be able to comprehend that improper fractions can become mixed numbers when looking at the equal sections of the shape. CCSS.Math.Content.3.G.A.2 Partition shapes into parts with equal areas. Express the area of each part as a unit fraction of the whole. For example, partition a shape into 4 parts with equal area, and describe the area of each part as 1/4 of the area of the shape. CCSS.Math.Content.3.NF.A.3b Recognize and generate simple equivalent fractions, e.g., 1/2 = 2/4, 4/6 = 2/3. Explain why the fractions are equivalent, e.g., by using a visual fraction model. CCSS.Math.Content.3.NF.A.3c Express whole numbers as fractions, and recognize fractions that are equivalent to whole numbers. Examples: Express 3 in the form 3 = 3/1; recognize that 6/1 = 6; locate 4/4 and 1 at the same point of a number line diagram. This lesson is important because it is a building block for future math lessons. It will help students compare fractions to one another as well as use fractions in equations. In the future, students can incorporate mathematical practices such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, etc.

OBJECTIVE:
Students will be able to identify that circles can be divided into equal sections. They will also be able to convert improper factions to mixed numbers when looking at the equal sections of the shape.

LESSON PROGRESSION
This lesson is for a third grade math class. I will introduce this lesson by asking students what they know about dividing circles into sections. This will help to activate their prior knowledge. This will help the students with the years curriculum because student need to be able know individual fractions before comparing them to one another. I will use the smart board and have different amounts of sections of a circle as an example. First there will be two halves of a circle. Students will be able to notice that the fraction that should be written is 2/2 or 1 whole. I will have circles divided into multiple sections on each of the different slides. After noticing that students understand, I will move on to having more sections of shapes than it takes to make a whole circle. This will help students visualize improper fractions and mixed numbers. Once I know students understand how to figure out the different sections of the circle, they will complete a worksheet with the people at their groups. The work sheets will consist of circles cut into different sections. Some sections will have fractions that will end up being improper and students will have to turn them into mixed numbers. When I noticed students are finishing up the worksheet, I will bring the class together as a whole and go over the worksheet. This will help me notice the students who get the concept quickly and who is still struggling to understand it. Something that I will

have the students think over night is how would this concept be helpful when trying to divide a hexagon or octagon into equal sections.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Some of the materials that I may need for this lesson is the smartboard as well as have the worksheets ready for class. Some questions I may ask during my lesson are related to the different sections of circles that will be presented on the smart board. I will ask them how they can write an improper fraction to be a mixed number and how they come to that answer. I will also ask them questions to see if there is any other way they could figure out the sections that a different student didnt find out. When planning the classroom management for this lesson, I considered that students would be at their seats while I am presenting the information. This will help eliminate students walking around. Students will be working with other students at their desks, which will help me, walk around the room with ease. The desks are arranged in groups with enough space between the groups to walk through. If students are unable to work as a group they will be forced to work individually instead. The source that I used for this lesson was my field placement teacher. She provided worksheets that I could use in my lesson. After submitting a lesson plan to her a few days before hand, she emailed me back with a few changes. She mentioned that I should eliminate some of the material because of time. If a majority of the class does not understand the lesson, it will be repeated the next day with a different worksheet. It will concentrate mainly on regular fractions and once student understand that concept, improper fractions will be introduce again. A big misconception that students may have is that they want a place for each piece. If not all the pieces fit, students are not capable of understanding that it is okay to have leftovers. This will take time getting used to but there will be a lot of visuals to help the students grasp the concept.

DIFFERENTIATION
Students who I know will have a difficult time grasping this concept, I will independently talk to them the day before and briefly mention what we will talk about in class the next day. I would have them think about it at home and see if their parents can help them. I also would provide a slightly easier worksheet for those students but still have them complete a worksheet so they do not feel excluded from the class. This worksheet would concentrate solely on proper fractions and improper fractions would be covered in a separate worksheet at a later time.

ASSESSMENT
The assessment for this lesson is the worksheet they complete. I will assess the students knowledge by the number of students correct answers as well as explained their reasoning for the answer they came across. If the students provide an explanation for how they acquired the answer that is correct and makes sense, then I will know that the students met the objective.