Fractions, Legos and Life!
A complete understanding of fractions is essential. Just like a student having a good number sense student should develop his sense of fraction from a very early age.
The first concept in fractions is the concept that there is a whole that is divided into parts. The child will first come to know that the number of parts that the whole is divided into can be many or few and is decided visually or by units of measure or other arbitrary means for example units of measure can be centimeters, meters, millimeters inches or it can be an arbitrary unit size such as the size of your foot or your finger.
Here are some ways to practice the concept of whole and fractional parts
Measure the length of something by walking across it and counting how many footsteps there are
Cut a piece of paper into equal parts
Fold a piece of paper multiple times
Make geometrical designs on paper
Look at the petals of a flower
Look at the parts of a piece of fruit
While looking, put your hands over your eyes covering different amounts of what you see.
A child will naturally examine these things, you are his guide to clarify their meaning and usefulness.
The most important thing is to give to the child the concept that there is a whole and that it can be divided into parts, and that your determination of the whole is arbitrary as well as the determination of the units that make up the whole.
Making a movie
When you are making a movie you can look at a small part of something such as a close-up or you can pull back and see a whole picture with a design or balanced composition
Have the child make a “camera lens” with his hands like a circle that he is looking through ask him to look through the circle and see what is the whole and what are the parts that he sees within the circle.
Repeat the concept of whole and parts at every opportunity such as looking through windows, seeing window blinds,looking through a telescope and so on.
Legos
At the table sit down with paper and pencil, straight edge and blocks or Legos to make design fractional parts.
If you don’t already know – Legos are wonderful tools for math education.
There are numerous videos to provide you with ideas and to enlighten you on how to use the wonderful Legos for giving greater understanding of fractions, here is a great one:
Seeing Fractions: whole and parts
Measure the length of something by walking across it and counting how many footsteps there are
Cut a piece of paper into equal parts
Fold a piece of paper multiple times
Make geometrical designs on paper
Look at the petals of a flower
Look at the parts of a piece of fruit
While looking, put your hands over your eyes covering different amounts of what you see.
A child will naturally examine these things, you are his guide to clarify their meaning and usefulness.
The most important thing is to give to the child the concept that there is a whole and that it can be divided into parts, and that your determination of the whole is arbitrary as well as the determination of the units that make up the whole.
Making a movie
When you are making a movie you can look at a small part of something such as a close-up or you can pull back and see a whole picture with a design or balanced composition
Have the child make a “camera lens” with his hands like a circle that he is looking through ask him to look through the circle and see what is the whole and what are the parts that he sees within the circle.
Repeat the concept of whole and parts at every opportunity such as looking through windows, seeing window blinds,looking through a telescope and so on.
Legos
At the table sit down with paper and pencil, straight edge and blocks or Legos to make design fractional parts.
If you don’t already know – Legos are wonderful tools for math education.
There are numerous videos to provide you with ideas and to enlighten you on how to use the wonderful Legos for giving greater understanding of fractions, here is a great one:
I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.