The fractions are introduced in elementary schools, later advancing to more complex concepts. In higher grades, kids need to work with partial fractions and various other fraction topics. The core concept of fractions is necessary for kids to acquire many other advanced skills. Attaining conceptual fluency of fractions needs a stepwise understanding of this topic.
Teaching fractions can be tricky as it involves using various terms like numerator, denominator, equivalence, improper and other fraction-notations. The concept of fractions often seems daunting for kids as it requires a clear understanding to remember all these confusing fraction related terms and concepts. There are a few things that push kids away from fractions most often.
- We usually instruct kids to perform some steps in solutions without giving them the reasons behind the steps. Sometimes, students are not even developmentally ready to understand the concepts.
- Kids form this fear and misconceptions about various challenging topics in mathematics, including fractions. We can help kids overcome those fears by encouraging them to learn through the right technique.
- We introduce fractions as a part of the whole, which often leads to the inability to conceptualize improper fractions, as they can’t relate to seeing more parts than the number of parts in the source.
Kids often struggle while learning any new concepts, including fractions, but they can get a hold of it with little practice. Here are five teaching ways that can make fractions easier for kids.
1. Hands-On Practice
Understanding the representation of fractions as a part of the whole can be complex for kids to visualize. The use of manipulatives can be helpful in making this concept more concrete. Teaching with manipulatives enables kids to do some hands-on practice of various fraction concepts. It is an excellent way to encourage younger kids to learn fractions.
2. Visualized Learning
Visualization of fraction concepts can enable kids to learn more. Using visual examples to teach fractions is one of the most efficient ways of teaching fractions. Learning with images and videos can go handy while teaching various concepts. There are various activities you can incorporate in your teaching to prepare students so that they can understand and represent fractions in a visualized way. For example, asking students to create a visual of the fraction on paper.
3. Playing Fraction Games
Games are a major factor in promoting love for learning, and it serves multiple purposes. Firstly, it makes learning fun. A boring and complicated topic can be made interesting to your students through games. Playing games also provides a visualization that is especially helpful in learning for younger students. Games promote practice required to build fluency with a particular skill.
4. Using Technological Aids
Another teaching approach that helps the kids build fractions skills includes practice through apps and interactive worksheets. Various interactive resources like Interactive worksheets can help solidify concepts. You can easily find many online resources to learn fractions on the internet.
5. Be Strategic in Teaching Fractions
It can help create interest and to prepare students to learn the concept. When it comes to teaching a challenging topic, it’s always good to map out goals and objectives. Keeping your students and objective in mind, plan your teaching. While introducing new concepts, let the kids explore first with manipulatives and games. Later you can cover the complex concepts in-depth.
Step-by-step, teaching, and guidance can help resolve the issues faced by students like limited understanding, lack of practice, and misconceptions. You can also try to teach kids with various resources available at Cuemath. It has a curriculum that offers complete guidance and free resources to build deep conceptual knowledge in kids.
