Fractions are a really hard concepts for my third graders… but with the few tricks I have up my sleeve, they are all proficient in the area of third grade fraction standards after teaching this topic. In this post I am sharing some materials, videos, and printables that I find necessary when teaching fractions to third graders.
First start hands on and with lots of visuals. So of my favorite hands on resources and visuals include:
I love that each of my students can have their own bag of fraction strips so that they can visually see the size of each fraction and also find equivalent fractions. I could not teach fractions without this!
I love both the magnetic strips and circles. I can manipulate them on my chalkboard while teaching!
So those are my three must have resources to purchase when teaching about fractions.
If you have BrainPop – I really love their fraction videos. You should plan to show those during units on fractions. They have a variety of videos on different fraction topics. Sometimes as a math center, I print the quizzes that go with these activities. Then for a math center, they watch a BrainPop video and complete the quiz.
One of the road blocks that I come to when teaching fractions is having students compare two fractions. I have found the easiest way to teach this is to teach them the Butterfly Strategy. Once they get this down, they quickly find how easy it is to compare fractions. I created a PowerPoint to teach my students this method. The last two slides of the PowerPoint should be printed so that the students can complete it as you go through the slides demonstrating the skill! This has been a lifesaver to me!!! Click here to learn more and to get this PowerPoint to use in your classroom!!
I also find that math crafts drive home the concepts you have taught. I created this fraction craft for my students to complete after our fraction lessons. I love giving a math craft that sums up some of our learning. This goes well with Topic 9 and Topic 10 in Envisions Math and other math programs with fractions as the topic. It uses the word unit fraction which my students need lots of reminders about before state testing. It also slightly touches on equivalent fractions of a half. Click here to download and learn more!!!
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