Fractions!  Fractions! Fractions!  We just finished the first of two fraction units.  Fractions are by far the topic in math that people in our society have the most trouble with.  I think it is because when many people learned about fractions they memorized a series of processes without any meaning attached.  I know I learned to use prime factors to find common denominators.  I tossed around teams like LCM and LCD without knowing what they meant in terms of the size or the value of the fraction itself.  Fractions are a very important topic in fifth grade and, trust me, your children will start fifth grade with a solid foundation to build upon!

     In fourth grade we spend a lot of time modeling fractions focusing on the fact that a fraction is part of a whole.  We used egg cartons, rulers, clocks and number lines to illustrate the size and value of proper and improper fractions as well as mixed numbers.  We found the size of the whole if given a fractional part.  I used candy bars to illustrate the point that we don’t know the size of a fraction unless we know how big the whole is.

     In fourth grade one of the things we focus on is equivalent fractions. We use area models and number lines to reason about equivalence.  We see that the process of multiplying the numerator and denominator of a fraction by the same number corresponds physically to dividing each fraction into smaller equal pieces.   For example: