Word (.docx)
Acrobat (.pdf)
Related Benchmarks
Related Access Points
Access Points
Related Resources
Educational Games
Formative Assessments
Lesson Plans
Original Student Tutorials
Perspectives Video: Teaching Ideas
Problem-Solving Tasks
Tutorials
Virtual Manipulative
Student Resources
Original Student Tutorials
Use equivalent fractions to compare fractions in this garden-themed, interactive tutorials
This is Part 2 in a two-part series. Click to open Part 1, “Mama’s Pizza, Butterflies, & Comparing Fractions.”
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to locate decimals on a number line and compare decimals to save the Decis from a wizard's spell in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Help a family settle an argument about who got the most pizza and which butterfly was longer by comparing fractions using benchmarks and area models, in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Help Rich escape Deci Land by learning how to write decimals that are related to fractions with denominators of 10 and 100 in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to create equivalent fractions and visually see how they are equivalent in this interactive tutorial.
This is part 1 of a 2-part series. Click HERE to open Part 2.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to find equivalent fractions in a multiplication table in this interactive tutorial.
This is part 2 of a 2 part series. Click HERE to open Part 1.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Educational Games
This is a fun and interactive game that helps students practice ordering rational numbers, including decimals, fractions, and percents. You are planting and harvesting flowers for cash. Allow the bee to pollinate, and you can multiply your crops and cash rewards!
Type: Educational Game
Test your fraction skills by answering questions on this site. This quiz asks you to simplify fractions, convert fractions to decimals and percentages, and answer algebra questions involving fractions. You can even choose difficulty level, question types, and time limit.
Type: Educational Game
Problem-Solving Tasks
The fractions for this task have been carefully chosen to encourage and reward different methods of comparison. The first solution judiciously uses each of the following strategies when appropriate: comparing to benchmark fractions, finding a common denominator, finding a common numerator. The second and third solution shown use only either common denominators or numerators. Teachers should encourage multiple approaches to solving the problem. This task is mostly intended for instructional purposes, although it has value as a formative assessment item as well.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is for students to finish the equations to make true statements. Parts (a) and (b) have the same solution, which emphasizes that the order in which we add doesn't matter (because addition is commutative), while parts (c) and (d) emphasize that the position of a digit in a decimal number is critical. The student must really think to encode the quantity in positional notation. In parts (e), (f), and (g), the base-ten units in 14 hundredths are bundled in different ways. In part (e), "hundredths" are thought of as units: 14 things = 10 things + 4 things. Part (h) addresses the notion of equivalence between hundredths and tenths.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
Students may not articulate every detail, but the basic idea for a case like the one shown here is that when you have equivalent fractions, you have just cut the pieces that represent the fraction into more but smaller pieces. Explaining fraction equivalences at higher grades can be a bit more involved (e.g. 6/8=9/12), but it can always be framed as subdividing the same quantity in different ways.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is to provide students with an opportunity to explain fraction equivalence through visual models in a particular example. Students will need more opportunities to think about fraction equivalence with different examples and models, but this task represents a good first step.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is for students to show they understand the connection between fraction and decimal notation by writing the same numbers both ways. Comparing and contrasting the two solutions shown below shows why decimal notation can be confusing. The first solution shows the briefest way to represent each number, and the second solution makes all the zeros explicit.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is to help students gain a better understanding of fractions through the use of dimes and pennies.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The focus of this task is on understanding that fractions, in an explicit context, are fractions of a specific whole. In this this problem there are three different wholes: the medium pizza, the large pizza, and the two pizzas taken together. This task is best suited for instruction. Students can practice explaining their reasoning to each other in pairs or as part of a whole group discussion.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is to help develop students' understanding of addition of fractions; it is intended as an instructional task. Notice that students are not asked to find the sum so this may be given to students who are limited to computing sums of fractions with the same denominator. Rather, they need to apply a firm understanding of unit fractions (fractions with one in the numerator) and reason about their relative size.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
This task is intended primarily for instruction. The goal is to provide examples for comparing two fractions, 1/5 and 2/7 in this case, by finding a benchmark fraction which lies in between the two. In Melissa's example, she chooses 1/4 as being larger than 1/5 and smaller than 2/7.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is for students to identify which fraction is closest to the whole number 1.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is for students to compare two fractions that arise in a context. Because the fractions are equal, students need to be able to explain how they know that. Some students might stop at the second-to-last picture and note that it looks like they ran the same distance, but the explanation is not yet complete at that point.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
Tutorials
In this Khan Academy video decimals are written and spoken in words.
Type: Tutorial
The Khan Academy video uses grid diagrams and number-line representations to say and write equivalent decimals and fractions.
Type: Tutorial
The Khan Academy video illustrates how to determine and write the decimal represented by shaded grids.
Type: Tutorial
In this Khan Academy video a fraction is converted from tenths to hundredths using grid diagrams.
Type: Tutorial
This Khan Academy video illustrates that fraction a/b is equivalent to fraction (a x n)/(b x n).
Type: Tutorial
This tutorial for student audiences will provide a basic introduction to decimals. The tutorial presents a decimal as another way to represent a fraction. Students will be able to navigate the teaching portion of the tutorial at their own pace and test their understanding after each step of the lesson with a "Try This" section. The "Try This" section will monitor students answers and self-check by a right answer gaining an orange circle and a wrong answer graying out. Some "Try This" sections will read the decimal to the students as well.
Type: Tutorial
This tutorial for student audiences will assist learners with a further understanding that fractions are a way of showing part of a whole. Yet some fractions are larger than others. So this tutorial will help to refresh the understanding for the comparison of fractions. Students will be able to navigate the teaching portion of the tutorial at their own pace and test their understanding after each step of the lesson with a "Try This" section. The "Try This" section will monitor students answers and self-check by a right answer turning orange and a wrong answer dissolving.
Type: Tutorial
Virtual Manipulative
This virtual manipulative allows individual students to work with fraction relationships. (There is also a link to a two-player version.)
Type: Virtual Manipulative
Parent Resources
Problem-Solving Tasks
The fractions for this task have been carefully chosen to encourage and reward different methods of comparison. The first solution judiciously uses each of the following strategies when appropriate: comparing to benchmark fractions, finding a common denominator, finding a common numerator. The second and third solution shown use only either common denominators or numerators. Teachers should encourage multiple approaches to solving the problem. This task is mostly intended for instructional purposes, although it has value as a formative assessment item as well.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is for students to finish the equations to make true statements. Parts (a) and (b) have the same solution, which emphasizes that the order in which we add doesn't matter (because addition is commutative), while parts (c) and (d) emphasize that the position of a digit in a decimal number is critical. The student must really think to encode the quantity in positional notation. In parts (e), (f), and (g), the base-ten units in 14 hundredths are bundled in different ways. In part (e), "hundredths" are thought of as units: 14 things = 10 things + 4 things. Part (h) addresses the notion of equivalence between hundredths and tenths.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
Students may not articulate every detail, but the basic idea for a case like the one shown here is that when you have equivalent fractions, you have just cut the pieces that represent the fraction into more but smaller pieces. Explaining fraction equivalences at higher grades can be a bit more involved (e.g. 6/8=9/12), but it can always be framed as subdividing the same quantity in different ways.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is to provide students with an opportunity to explain fraction equivalence through visual models in a particular example. Students will need more opportunities to think about fraction equivalence with different examples and models, but this task represents a good first step.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is for students to show they understand the connection between fraction and decimal notation by writing the same numbers both ways. Comparing and contrasting the two solutions shown below shows why decimal notation can be confusing. The first solution shows the briefest way to represent each number, and the second solution makes all the zeros explicit.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is to help students gain a better understanding of fractions through the use of dimes and pennies.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The focus of this task is on understanding that fractions, in an explicit context, are fractions of a specific whole. In this this problem there are three different wholes: the medium pizza, the large pizza, and the two pizzas taken together. This task is best suited for instruction. Students can practice explaining their reasoning to each other in pairs or as part of a whole group discussion.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is to help develop students' understanding of addition of fractions; it is intended as an instructional task. Notice that students are not asked to find the sum so this may be given to students who are limited to computing sums of fractions with the same denominator. Rather, they need to apply a firm understanding of unit fractions (fractions with one in the numerator) and reason about their relative size.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
This task is intended primarily for instruction. The goal is to provide examples for comparing two fractions, 1/5 and 2/7 in this case, by finding a benchmark fraction which lies in between the two. In Melissa's example, she chooses 1/4 as being larger than 1/5 and smaller than 2/7.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is for students to identify which fraction is closest to the whole number 1.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
The purpose of this task is for students to compare two fractions that arise in a context. Because the fractions are equal, students need to be able to explain how they know that. Some students might stop at the second-to-last picture and note that it looks like they ran the same distance, but the explanation is not yet complete at that point.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
Tutorials
This tutorial for student audiences will provide a basic introduction to decimals. The tutorial presents a decimal as another way to represent a fraction. Students will be able to navigate the teaching portion of the tutorial at their own pace and test their understanding after each step of the lesson with a "Try This" section. The "Try This" section will monitor students answers and self-check by a right answer gaining an orange circle and a wrong answer graying out. Some "Try This" sections will read the decimal to the students as well.
Type: Tutorial
This tutorial for student audiences will assist learners with a further understanding that fractions are a way of showing part of a whole. Yet some fractions are larger than others. So this tutorial will help to refresh the understanding for the comparison of fractions. Students will be able to navigate the teaching portion of the tutorial at their own pace and test their understanding after each step of the lesson with a "Try This" section. The "Try This" section will monitor students answers and self-check by a right answer turning orange and a wrong answer dissolving.
Type: Tutorial
