Session 1 - Division of Fractions

Step 1

Get Prepared (15 to 30 minutes):

Gather materials and review the lesson.

Materials:

You will need copies of the following handouts. Make copies or turn on computers.

Step 2

Think: Pre-Lesson Knowledge Check! (15 to 20 minutes)

Pre-lesson knowledge check task: Division of Chocolate Chips

Materials:

Materials:

Decorative question mark:

Why are students doing this/what are they getting out of it?

This part of the lesson intends to generate prior knowledge of the division of fractions and verify students are ready to complete this toolkit.

Directions:

Before you begin the Pre-Lesson Knowledge Check make sure you have gathered all your materials, reviewed the lesson, and have a dedicated area for students to work.
Ask students to complete this task, before the lesson or for homework.
Give yourself enough time to assess the work (see details below). You will be able to find out the kinds of difficulties students have with it.
You should then be able to target your help more effectively in the subsequent lesson.

Suppose Teddi has 5 cups of chocolate chips. If Teddi wants to put the chocolate chips in containers, each of which holds 3/4 of a cup of chocolate chips, how many containers will be filled? What portion of another container can be filled?

A sketch of notebook paper.

Directions for Giving the Task:

Ask students to complete the Division of Chocolate Chips. If they need help with the reading of the activity, help them. Their math knowledge is being assessed, not their reading/comprehension.

Directions for Scoring & Understanding Student Responses:

While students are doing the Pre-Lesson Knowledge Check, you will want to be watching and asking questions during work time. When students feel ready to share, look at their responses. Use the suggestions below to decide if they “got it” or are “still struggling” with this skill.

Sample Thinking Prompts:

Common Problems	Question to Pose to Student
Student does not know how to start	Can you draw a picture of 5 cups and divide them into 4 parts?
The student recognizes that there are 5 full cups but does not know what to do with the leftover amount.	How much of another container will that part fill?
The student writes division sentences but does not know how to solve.	Is there a way to draw this out so you can understand how it is being equally shared?
Student starts writing numbers from the problem on their paper but does not appear to know why.	Talk to me about this number. How come you’re putting it here?

The Answer:

The answer to this problem is 6 and 2/3 containers. There are 6 full containers. There are 2 parts left over. Since it takes 3 parts to make a whole, we have 2 (parts) of 3 (whole) of one more container. Division of Chocolate Chips Sample Answers.

Please Note

The next piece of the lesson looks at answers that students give to this problem. It includes correct and incorrect answers. This problem will be addressed in more depth in the next section. The intention is not to grade this activity but to use it to gauge what knowledge the student brings with them to the lesson.

If students were unable to grasp the skills in the Pre-Lesson Knowledge Check or provided incorrect answers, they should review the skills needed before this lesson. See the section above, “Progression of Skills” for ideas and resources. Otherwise, proceed to the next section to review the Division of Chocolate Chips activity.

NOTE: If this activity is taking a long time, this is a good breaking point.