5th Grade Math Learning Activities

Learning Activity 1: 5 minutes

Description: Evaluate a few assessment items that are associated with NF standards in 5th grade (like the one below).  Scholars are expected to perform operations on fractions with fractions, fractions with mixed numbers and whole numbers with fractions.  Look at the assessment items presented in your response packet and work to see if you can find an abstract and pictorial way to solve the problem.

• Deb has a board that measures 5 feet in length. How many -foot-long pieces can Deb

             cut from the board?


Materials: 

Response Packet - Hard Copy

Output (In your response packet): 

1. Respond to a couple of reflection questions in your response packet about the implications for teaching and learning.

Learning Activity 2: 10 minutes

Description: Singapore and CGI, unlike some curricula and approaches to math, continue to use visual/pictorial models for performing operations on fractions.  They push a conceptual understanding of what it looks like to multiply a fraction by a fraction, for example.  Both approaches expect kids to also represent their thinking visually and to interpret visual representations of a variety of operations on fractions.  Watch the videos linked below to see some methods for representing pictorial images of  these methods.  As a note, number stories involving equal shares (fractions) will begin to appear in the curriculum in T1b (yay!).  In the first video, just watch, in the second video, try to solve the problem before watching.

Materials: -

Response Packet - Hard Copy

Operations on fractions - Linked Here:

Just watch and reflect on this video


Don't forget to try using a visual model to solve the problem before watching the solution (stop at 1:14):

https://learnzillion.com/lessons/3468

Output (In your response packet): 

1. Respond to a couple of reflection questions in your response packet about the implications for teaching and learning, specifically about conceptual understanding.

2. Represent your work in the response packet.  Don't erase your work after seeing the video, no matter what you did it will give you insight into how teachers and scholars will learn this.

Learning Activity 3: 20 minutes

Description: To frame our understanding of performing operations on fractions (and later decimals), we should make connection to our learning about CGI and children's mathematics.  In your resources, you have copies from chapter 8 from the CGI: Fractions and Decimals book.  This chapter shows problem types for performing operations on fractions and explores scholar strategies and conceptualizations of those problems.  Read about this development in relationship to understanding of strategies in this area and respond to the question in the packet.  While you might not be able to read the entire chapter in the time provided, you should get the gist from reading for 15 - 20 minutes.

Materials: 

1. Segments of chapter 8 from the CGI Fractions and Decimals book.
2. The response packet.

Output: 

1. Responses to guiding questions in the fractions book about implications for teacher development in this area.

Learning Activity 4: 10 minutes

Reflect and Action Plan (in your reponse packet):

Description: Review a few items from the NYS assessment involving the NF standards for 5th grade.  Look at how students show their work in the annotated versions of released items and make some simple actions for developing your teachers in this area.

1. What did you notice about the overwhelming majority of the items from the state assessment?

2. What challenges do you anticipate with teaching operations on fractions in context?

3. How will you support your teachers and scholars in solving fractions problems in context and with visual models?

4. Find a proof for the meme below: