Recommendations+for+Teaching+about+Fractions


 * IES Practice Guide - Developing Effective Fractions Instruction for Kindergarten through 8th Grade**, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, 2010 ([|download entire document])

**Key recommendations **


 * Base early understanding on fair shares
 * Use representations of different kinds
 * Develop estimation skills for comparing fractions by basing comparisons on benchmark fractions such as 1/2.
 * Develop the meaning of a fraction as a number (a place on the number line); connect a point on the number line to a fraction of a whole through the meaning of denominator and numerator
 * Use real-world examples including measurement
 * Develop the reasons behind procedures and expect students to explain their thinking

**The Role of Representations in Fraction Addition and Subtraction **, by Kathleen Cramer, Terry Wyberg, and Seth Leavitt, published in Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 13(8) April 2008, 490-496.

**Key recommendations **


 * Before operating with fractions, students need to understand what a fraction means. This involves understanding the part-whole model for fractions and the ability to judge the relative size of a fraction.
 * Estimation and visualization are important. These abilities will help students monitor their work when finding exact answers.
 * Students need to experience acting out addition and subtraction concretely with an appropriate model before operating with symbols.
 * Making connections between concrete actions and symbols is an important part of understanding. Students should be encouraged to find their own way of recording with symbols.
 * Students need easy recall of their multiplication and division facts.
 * Connecting the procedure to a new representation may be an effective strategy to reinforce the procedure.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">10 Practical Tips for Making Fractions Come Alive and Make Sense **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">, by Doug M. Clarke, Anne Roche, and Annie Mitchell, published in Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 13(7) March 2008, 372-379.

**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Key recommendations **


 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Give a greater emphasis to the meaning of fractions than on procedures for manipulating them.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Develop a generalizable rule for explaining the numerator and denominator of a fraction.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Emphasize that fractions are numbers, making extensive use of number lines in representing fractions and decimals.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Take opportunities early to focus on improper fractions and equivalences.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Provide a variety of models to represent fractions.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Link fractions to key benchmarks, and encourage estimation.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Give emphasis to fractions as division.
 * 8) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Link fractions, decimals, and percents wherever possible.
 * 9) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Take the opportunity to interview several students one on one on the kinds of tasks discussed in this article to gain awareness of their thinking and strategies.
 * 10) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Look for examples and activities that can engage students in thinking about fractions in particular and rational number ideas in general.