Have you seen the amazing visuals over at www.fractiontalks.com? They’re ideal for any teacher looking to get all students talking about fractions and mathematical reasoning, regardless of ability levels. We used one of the images to introduce fractions to some 3rd grade students. We learned a lot and the students did too! We’d like to share our learning with you.
I had a chance to use Steve Wyborny’s tile images as a part of a 3rd grade lesson inquiry. The tile problems are an effective tool to engage students in discourse about their mathematical reasoning. Furthermore, it allows teachers to identify student misconceptions about partitioning and calculating area. These misconceptions often prevent students from understanding how to use the area model to reason about fractions (3.NF.1).