Introductory Activity :

Duration: 45 minutes

Description: In this lesson, students use fraction circles to create a "fraction monster." Students practice their skills in adding fractions with unlike denominators. The activity also provides an opportunity to integrate creative writing into the math curriculum.

Goals:

1. Students will be able to add fractions with unlike denominators.
2. Students will use their creative writing skills to construct a short story.

Body :

Review the addition of fractions with different denominators. Write a couple of problems on the board, and review how to find a common denominator. Inform students that they are going to do some "monstrous math problems" today. Put the box of Ellison cutouts in a central location. Explain that the cutouts represent fractions of whole circles (you may want to sketch a couple of examples on the board -- one circle divided into thirds, another circle divided into sixths, etc.). Let students know that each color represents a different fraction (ex. a yellow piece is 1/2, a red piece is 1/4, etc.). Ask students to use at least four different types of fraction circle pieces to create a "fraction monster." Students can glue their pieces on a sheet of white construction paper. Remind students to put their names on their papers.

After students have created their monsters, they should add up the fraction values that they used. Students should record their work on a piece of paper (to be collected later). Ask students to share their results to see who has a monster made up of the most whole circles and who has a monster made up of the least whole circles. [ Author's Note: The teacher may want to award "prizes" to the student with the highest fraction value and the student with the lowest fraction value.]

To tie this activity to language arts, have students write a creative short story about their monsters. [ Author's Note: I had my students write stories related to space exploration, since that was a topic we were studying in science. I also had the class vote on the most creative story.] Remind students to check their work for grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Evaluation Activity :

Collect and display students' "fraction monsters" and stories. The teacher should collect students' computations to check for accuracy in adding unlike denominators. The teacher should also review students' stories for grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Internet Resources Referenced in this Lesson :

Ellison Homepage