Description
What our Reasoning to Compare Fractions lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Reasoning to Compare Fractions presents various strategies students may use to compare fractions. The lesson begins with a brief introduction reviewing greater than (<), less than (>), and equal to (=) signs. The lesson provides examples in which students look at fractions with either the same numerator or the same denominator to determine which is larger. Illustrations are provided with examples to enhance understanding, especially for visual learners. At the end of the lesson, students will be able to compare fractions using models and algebraic symbols. This lesson is for students in 3rd grade and 4th grade.
Classroom Procedure
Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the blue box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand.
Options for Lesson
Included with this lesson is an “Options for Lesson” section that lists a number of suggestions for activities to add to the lesson or substitutions for the ones already in the lesson. One optional addition to this lesson is to have your students use fraction strips to model and compare fractions as a class. You could also have your students come up with their own fraction problems to solve as a class by letting each student choose a fraction.
Teacher Notes
The teacher notes page includes lines that you can use to add your own notes as you’re preparing for this lesson.
REASONING TO COMPARE FRACTIONS LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Comparing Fractions
The Reasoning to Compare Fractions lesson plan includes two content pages. When looking at two fractions, how do you know which is larger? To compare fractions, you can look at either the numerator or the denominator. First, let’s review some math symbols: > (greater than), < (less than), and = (equal to).
Same Denominator
If two fractions have the same denominator, you need to compare the numerators. For example, let’s compare 1/5 and 3/5. Both fractions have 5 in the denominator, which means they have the same size pieces for the whole. This means that you need to compare the numerators (you can also use a drawing if you’d like!). 1 is less than 3 (1 < 3), so 1/5 < 3/5.
Next, let’s compare 7/8 and 4/8. Both fractions have 8 in the denominator, which means they have the same size pieces for the whole. Like the other example, you need to compare the numerators and can also use a drawing. 7 is more than 4 (7 > 4), so 7/8 > 4/8.
Same Numerator
If two fractions have the same numerator, you need to compare the denominators. Denominators tell us how big each of the pieces to compare are. It can be helpful to use a model to compare denominators.
For example, let’s compare 1/6 and 1/8. Both fractions have 1 in the numerator, which means they have the same number of pieces. This means that you need to compare the denominators to see which piece is larger. You can use a fraction strip to model the problem. The 1/6 fraction strip is split into 6 even pieces and the 1/8 fraction strip is split into 8 even pieces. You can then compare one piece of the 1/6 fraction strip to one piece of the 1/8 fraction strip. One piece of the 1/6 fraction strip is larger than one piece of the 1/8 fraction strip, so 1/6 > 1/8.
Next, let’s compare 4/10 and 4/12. Both fractions have 4 in the numerator, which means they have the same number of pieces. This means that you need to compare the denominators to see which piece is larger. Like the last problem, you can use a fraction strip to model the problem. The 4/10 fraction strip is split into 10 even pieces and the 4/12 fraction strip is split into 12 even pieces. You can then compare four pieces of the 4/10 fraction strip to four pieces of the 4/12 fraction strip. Four pieces of the 4/10 fraction strip is larger than four pieces of the 4/12 fraction strip, so 4/10 > 4/12.
REASONING TO COMPARE FRACTIONS LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Reasoning to Compare Fractions lesson plan includes four worksheets: an activity worksheet, a practice worksheet, a homework assignment, and a quiz. You can refer to the guide on the classroom procedure page to determine when to hand out each worksheet.
WORD PROBLEMS ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
Students will work with a partner to complete the activity worksheet. Each pair will read and answer two word problems.
COMPARING FRACTIONS PRACTICE WORKSHEET
For the practice worksheet, students will first shade the models on the worksheet to compare fractions. They will then compare fractions using <, >, or =.
REASONING TO COMPARE FRACTIONS HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
The homework assignment asks students to solve four word problems that include fractions.
QUIZ
This lesson also includes a quiz that you can use to test students’ understanding of the lesson material. For the quiz, students will first create and shade a model to show 3/6 and 3/4. They will then compare the fractions.
Worksheet Answer Keys
This lesson plan includes answer keys for the activity worksheet, the practice worksheet, the homework assignment, and the quiz. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.
