Day 56: Fraction Stations

6th Grade Math Standards: 6.NS.1 Interpret and compute quotients of fractions, and solve word problems involving division of fractions by fractions, e.g., by using visual fraction models and equations to represent the problem. For example, create a story context for (2/3) ÷ (3/4) and use a visual fraction model to show the quotient; use the relationship between multiplication and division to explain that (2/3) ÷ (3/4) = 8/9 because 3/4 of 8/9 is 2/3. (In general, (a/b) ÷ (c/d) = ad/bc .) How much chocolate will each person get if 3 people share 1/2 lb of chocolate equally? How many 3/4-cup servings are in 2/3 of a cup of yogurt? How wide is a rectangular strip of land with length 3/4 mi and area 1/2 square mi?

Objective: Interpret the relationship between fractions with unlike denominators on a number line.

Question: How is a fraction like 10 and 25/24 going to be fixed?

Agenda:

1. Estimation 180 (Lights)
2. QSSQ
3. Stations (word problem strategies, number line, stop and think, peanut butter blossoms, WQ) 
4. Exit Ticket (using clickers)
5. Start the homework 

Assessment: I stayed at one group of desks and focused on the number line concept that was listed in the objective.

Glass Half-Full: The clickers exit ticket was new to this year and really helped alleviate some of my concern regarding an issue that is a chronic red x when students take the test. They are overwhelmed by the number of steps involved in these problems so I tried to keep it really simple by saying get everyone to speak the same language. In other words make them all improper or mixed and then make them all have the same denominator and then reevaluate the question.

Regrets: Not even checking in on the groups in the other stations was a huge issue because it meant that they were unaccountable. For students that lack self-discipline this meant that they essentially got nothing done. Coming off of Thanksgiving break and getting back into fractions after a five day layoff, that meant that they might be lacking the skills they need to have.