Sometimes just being able to attract the student’s attention in class can be a chore in itself, especially if some students are having comprehension issues between different types of math such as Fractions and Probability. This is one of the reasons why math can be challenging for some people to grasp. Unlike other subjects in school like English, Reading, and Comprehension, Math deals with numbers, so this in itself makes it very different then many of the other subjects that people are familiar with and are used to learning. One way that teachers can motivate their students to be able to learn fractions is by incorporating word problems, which are similar to those they will become familiar with in Philosophy class during college. Although that is quite a jump from being a school-aged student to a college aged student, there is nothing better then being able to give them the fundamental skills that will one day help them solve these more complex assignments. One way to accomplish this is by combining English, Probability and Math in to a fun and interesting subject that deals with Fractions and Probability. There is no wrong way to go about incorporating this technique.  As mater of fact, it will probably be fun for the teacher as well. Here is one way that you can plan this.

Steps:

1. Take a sheet of fractions that you may have on hand that are just plain old fraction problems.
2. Let’s say that the first fraction of the first problem on the sheet is ¼
3. Let’s use that good ol’ imagination of yours and let’s write out that problem so the kids will enjoy reading the problem and learn something important at the same time.  Therefore, you would write something to this extent:

Tommy has four toy trucks. Of these four toy trucks, one is green. How many trucks does Tommy have that are green? Write this in a fraction. Answer- ¼

1. Now for the same problem, but the second number, let’s say it’s also ¼

You would write:

Jerry has four cookies.  Of those four cookies, one is chocolate chip. Write this in fraction form. Answer- ¼

1. Now you instruct them on the paper to take the first two you wrote out and have them make a fraction problem, therefore it would be ¼+¼ =

You can do this with as many problems as you would like. It would also be great to work in some topics that kids are interested in like snacks or candy or something fun.

By incorporating this technique, the students might be able to catch on a little better. They will also be able to grasp the beginning concepts of logic and probability, which they will need to be able to understand later in school.

….And of course, our other Fun Fractions Game for decimals, percentiles and money:

http://www.math-lessons.ca/activities/OneEquals.html