Third Grade students at Connally Elementary recently took part in a fun and engaging lesson focused on fractions. During the lesson students worked in groups and used models to solve challenging problems involving fractions. The students also discussed the many ways they could use fractions in real-life scenarios.
“Last week they partitioned shapes into equal parts using just one shape, and this week we combined the shapes to let the students know that when the region changes the fraction is going to look a little bit different,” explained Mrs. Collins, a 3rd grade teacher at Connally.
According to Mrs. Collins, this exercise was very effective as students had to build upon lessons learned in previous assignments to help guide their thinking.
“I learned that you can combine different shapes and partition them no matter what kind of shapes they are,” said Akiliah Parker, a student in Mrs. Collins’ class.
“These lessons I absoulutely love,” said Mrs. Collins. “The key point is they are explaining to their peers what they did, they’re explaining their models, using tools appropriately, and they’re really digging deep into concepts.”
Through this hands-on activity, students were able to explore fractions using shapes and partition shapes into equal parts. The activity’s content and objectives aligned with the common core curriculum and standards. The students were very engaged and eager to learn throughout the lesson.