At the beginning of the week, if you would have asked me what a fraction is, I would have looked at you with a blank stare.
Now, after reading about 10 books, watching a few You Tube videos, and eating a giant Hershey chocolate bar, I can tell you that a fraction is a part of a whole.
I can even tell you what other these things are: numerator, denominator, proper fraction, improper fraction, equivalent fractions, like fractions, mixed numbers, least common denominator, and simplest form. How smart am I!?!
Here are two highlights from my week about fractions:
Ed Emberley's Picture Pie
In this book, I learned how to draw pictures using a whole, half, quarter, and eighth of a circle. After drawing each picture, I had to add up the fractions I used to find the total parts of a circle in the picture. To do this, I converted each fraction to like fractions so that the denominator was the same for all of the parts I used, then I added the numerators together, then I divided for simplest form. Take a look:
Hershey Bar Fractions
I really did not want to learn about fractions, but Mom, because she's so smart, knew the way for fractions to win a spot in my heart was through Hershey's chocolate! After I finished reading my ten books on fractions, I got to put the principles to work by dividing a Hershey bar into parts and solving different problems. For example, I had to solve:
If my Mom ate 2/16's, Berrett ate 3/16s, and I ate 1/4, how much of the Hershey bar did we eat?
I had to change to like fractions using the biggest denominator. Then I added the numerators together.
2/16 + 3/16 + 4/16 = 9/16.
This answer is the simplest form.
I spent about an hour doing fractions before I was allowed to eat any chocolate! It was torture.
Signing Off,
Evalynn and Mom
fractions for an hour with no chocolate? you just had to watch the chocolate? sounds painful...i hope it tasted all the more sweet when you were finally able to eat it. :) i think using chocolate to help you grasp difficult concepts is a terrific idea!
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