Today I give students a written assessment of their understanding of fractions. The problems asks them to identify the shaded region of a figure, to divide shapes into equal fractional parts, to shade in fractional parts of a figure, to recognize that when a whole figure is shaded it is a whole represented as a fraction where numerator and denominator match, and finally to explain how things may or may not be equal.
I ask each student to work independently and I circulate around the room to support students who may be struggling with a problem.
I remind students that when they are done they may get the materials and begin work on the fraction pictures.
Once students complete the written assessment, I have a project for them to complete. I have written up a series of fractions of shapes that students must use to create a picture. I want them to show in their picture that they understand parts of a whole.
Each student may use a variety of materials to complete a nature picture. These pictures will be used in science as we discuss wind and pollution in future lessons.