A Good Math Week

Article and photos: Curtis B.

This week in Learning 4Life Success we learned about fractions. We got to refresh our brain on some old material and learned some new stuff. The class as a whole is doing very well. Everyone seems to be grasping the concept.

Fraction bars help us to get the concept, not just the algorithms.

 First on Monday we worked on bars and arrays. One of the class strategies is drawing and using bars goes perfect with it. You can use drawing as an easy way to figure out the problem. Bars work like candy bars so if you have a problem where you’re sharing this is a great approach to problem solving.

Then on Tuesday we went over some more fraction bars. We also went through the different names of fractions. First we looked at equivalent fractions. That's where two fractions have the same amount or equal the same amount. We all did problems to help us practice and keep it in our head. Then we talked about improper fractions. An improper fraction is when the numerator is bigger than the denominator and you can make a whole number out of it. Finally we discussed mixed numbers, and yes I will tell you what it is. A mixed number is when you have a whole number and a fraction side by side.

Equivalent fractions using fraction bars

Meanwhile on Wednesday, we got more in depth with all the different names and fractions. This is when we actually got to work out problems. We all got the concept, at least for the most part. Overall it was fun and not too hard on the brain.

Finally, on Thursday and Friday, the class added and subtracted improper fractions and mixed numbers. We first looked at problems on the board then we watched how to solve and work through them. On Friday,  we tested a new computer program as a class. This program is a math program so it is helping us learn and practice. The school would like to use it more so I would give it the go ahead. But maybe we should check it out more. The class is still trying to figure out how the whole thing works.

At the end of the week I feel good and I bet the class does too. I would like to give a shout out to my class. They did well and we all learned quite a bit. Overall it was a good math week.