Using Fractions

Grade 3
Lesson description: This lesson is centered around the fact that so many students hate
fractions. They find them difficult and boring, so we wanted to show them that they dont
have to be. Also, it is important to show students that fractions are useful for their
everyday lives, to give them more of an interest in learning about them. We decided to
use food to do this, because food is an easy way to get children interested. It was
inspired by the fact that one of our group members made chex mix in her own third
grade class, when learning fractions, and she remembers it as a fun memory. You can
measure these foods using measuring cups, which is an easy way to display the use of
fractions ( and cups of ingredients). We incorporated technology by using Windows
Movie Maker to make and edit a video, adding music and pictures to make the video
more entertaining. We also used Google docs to make the lesson plan, which allowed
us to add tables and clipart to make the document more organized and appealing. We
found articles that related to STEM teaching by searching through the Purdue library
search engine for journal articles.
Objectives

Materials

1. Given the notecards with fractions written

on them, students will be able to identify
different ways to add fractions without
error.
2. Given the video demonstrating the
activity they will be completing, students
will be able to proportion the correct
amount of food for the trail mix with
perfect accuracy.
For worksheet and assessment:
Pencils
Worksheet and fraction cards given
For activity:

1 cup measuring cup

cup measuring cup
cup measuring cup
Mixing bowl
Puppy Chow
Goldfish crackers
Pretzels
Crunch N Munch
M&Ms
Sandwich bags

Learning Conditions

Students will be taken to Wetherill Room

320 on Purdue University campus. The
room is equipped with two large projector
screens with several seats for the
students. The projector screens are
necessary for the video presentation.

Learners

Third grade students that participate in

College Mentors for Kids.

Procedure

Students will be given a short lesson on

adding fractions, a worksheet to complete
on adding fractions, then will be
completing an activity (making trail mix),
and given a short assessment.
Beginning lesson:
1. Students will be given a short lesson on
adding fractions by using the projector.
First explain how fractions mean parts of
a whole. Draw a circle and split it into
fourths. Color in one fourth at a time to
explain the concept of fourths. Explain
how each portion is a part of the whole
circle. Also point out that when two
fourths are shaded, half of the circle is
shaded. This means that two fourths is
equal to one half. Do the same for four
fourths being equal to one and two halves
also being equal to one by tracing
different boundary lines each time you
explain equivalent fractions.
2. They will then be given a worksheet with
5 problems to complete, using the note

cards as manipulatives.
a. The mentors should walk around and
help the students complete the
assignment, making sure all problems are
correct
b. Allow 7-10 minutes for the activity
c. This is part of the assessment, by making
sure they can display fractions and
having the mentors check them.
Activity:
1. Students will be divided into groups of 3
or 4
2. Materials needed for the mix will be
distributed to each group, each getting
one set of measuring cups to share
between the group and enough of each
ingredient for each student to fill a
sandwich bag
3. The instructional video will to shown on
the projector for the students to follow
along to
a. Stop and start video when necessary so
students can follow along to the video,
such as after each ingredient is added to
the bowl
b. Mentors should supervise groups, making
sure that they are adding the right
amount of ingredients. This is your
second form of assessment.
4. The students can then mix the
ingredients and eat it or take some
home!
Assessment

Students will be supervised by the

mentors, who must be sure that they are
putting in the correct amounts of
ingredients using the fractional portions
with measuring cups. This is assess their
comprehension of adding fractions, as
well as the effectiveness of the lesson.

Indiana State Standards

Number Sense
3.NS.3 Students understand a fraction as

the quantity formed by 1 part when a

whole is split into equal parts
3.NS.6 Students understand that
equations are equivalent if they are the
same size
3.NS.7 Students can generate simple
equivalent fractions

Link to our video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gqljVMwfp0

Smith, T. R., McGowan, J., Allen, A. R., Johnson, W. D., Dickson, L. A., Najee-ullah, M.
A., & Peters, M. (2008). Evaluating the impact of a faculty learning community on
STEM teaching and learning. The Journal of Negro Education, 77(3), 203226.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25608688

This article talks about how Howard University created a Faculty Learning Community
to enhance not only learning, but also achievement in the areas that STEM teaches
(science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). FLC participants wanted active
learning strategies and cooperative learning to be taught more, so that students could

learn in new and better ways. This article focuses on what FCLs goals are, specifically
in teaching STEM in this situation. It is a group of 6-15 people who are aware that
teaching needs to be approached in different ways to keep these areas strong and
prospering. It goes into a little bit on each of the four topics and what can be done with
each individual topic to make it easier to learn and more beneficial when we teach it.For
example, in the area of math, they encourage critical thinking and problem solving by
using real-world scenarios. The article explains the impact it has on students, and uses
graphs to show how beneficial the seminars are and how well the students understand
the STEM subjects. This relates to our lesson because we made sure our students were
working together in groups, collaborating, and using a real world scenario rather than
just a worksheet with equations.

Wang, H., Moore, T., Roehrig, G., Park, M. (2011). STEM Integration: Teacher
Perceptions and Practice. Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education
Research (J-PEER), 1(2), 1-13.
DOI: 10.5703/1288284314636

This article emphasizes the need for STEM education in public schools. The
need is especially great for at-risk students, that is, students that are in urban, lessprivileged areas. Research was done on teachers that were a part of a STEM
integration professional development program. These teachers taught different lessons
to groups of students were under the same conditions, they were high-needs students.
The teachers were critiqued on the effectiveness of their lessons and how well their
students were engaged. This article is relevant to our lesson because we needed to
keep our students engaged and interested in the material we will be presenting to them.
By learning that some of the lessons presented in the research did not keep the
students engaged, we made sure to include an activity that would keep our students
interested in what they would be learning.