Math Monday::More Fractions

Yes, it is Monday again! I thought I'd post about more of our math adventures. I said last week that I would talk more about Math Smart Junior- I'll share a little, but I am mostly here to share some more fraction learning!

We'll begin with Goldfish equivalent fractions:  

 Food and fractions just go together! 

Goldfish were used to work on equivalent fractions- like 2/4 = 1/2. I was actually surprised how far we went with this. I thought because there were different denominators, it would get confusing. 

I guess Goldfish really work for fraction learning! 

A little blurry, but I thought this demonstrated that James really is having fun. 

No math has to be painful. Although, 

I have not figured out a way to make Algebra edible yet. 

Moving on to adding fractions with Smarties: 

  Each boy (James and Mark) opened their Smartie pack. After a false start, I helped James set up a way to figure out his "Smartie fractions" and document them. 

 Mark also wanted to be the photographer so he is not in the pictures, 

but you can tell where he is sitting! 

In this very short lesson, we discussed adding fractions. I don't have pictures documenting the steps we took, but this picture will give you a visual.

I started by writing a problem out on my mini white board- 7/15 + 4/15 + 4/15- and talked with the boys about it. They discussed the fact that it looked like a big problem and that were not sure how to do it.

I encouraged them to begin. They told me that they were going to add the numerators first.(I was writing- they dictated) "Very good." (that is me talking;))

"What number should I write for the numerator then." They told me "15". "Great! Now what?"

They decided to add the denominators. "Okay, let's try that." When they got their answer, they knew that the process must be wrong.

I let them discuss it between themselves (I love listening to these discussions!) and they quickly came up with the idea that there must be a math rule that says that the denominator stays the same.

Some kids prefer to just fill in the blanks. That is okay. But I do think it is important for children to touch and feel (and possibly eat) math when possible and especially if they have any learning difficulties. The more senses that can be brought in to the process, the more the information is going to stick (in my experience).

I also introduced a new math activity to my boys. I told them this was a math "computer game" when their sisters were little.

I demonstrated it for them and showed them how they could check their answers on the back of the tile. I was surprised how cool they thought is was. My kids are pretty easily impressed.

They each took a turn. Mark's first effort did not work out because he somehow missed that he should begin at the top- jumping around makes it too hard to keep track of which slot to use.

This one will be in the workboxes for sure.

About Math Smart Junior- 

My own copy of this book arrived this week! I want to be able to make notes and such- for some reason the library frowns on me doing that in their book.

As a bonus- the edition I purchased comes with a DVD with lessons on it. I watched it... we'll see. I don't love it as much as the book. I'll let you know.

In the meantime, my boys are learning about "order of operations" through reading about the adventures of Sondra, Jennifer, and Taylor. In chapter two these kids are going to make a pizza.

Here is a very small excerpt from that chapter:

"Imagine trying to make a pizza by pouring out the sauce first and then adding the dough! How about frosting the batter before you bake the cake! Well, it happens all the time in math because people don't know the "recipe" for the problem. It is called the order of operations." 

I promise. More on this next time.