How To Teach Fractions to Preschool and Kindergarten Students
Like all areas of math, fraction concepts need to be communicated to young children with developmentally accepted hands on experiences and plenty of play activities. Concrete objects like pattern blocks and 3D fraction shapes enable kids to make sense of new math concepts or abstract ideas. Children need to have fraction experiences that:
incorporate their senses
invite them to experiment and make observations
let them learn at their own rate, and
allow them time to study a topic further
How To Teach Fractions to Preschool and Kindergarten Students
It is foremost that preschool and kindergarten math lessons offer opportunities for young children to institute fraction number sense. Before children are able to perform operations (adding, subtracting...) with fractions, they want lots of time for fraction games and play. This will help them visualize fractions and understand that fraction segments are equal parts of a larger object, skills indispensable for more developed fraction concepts. It is not indispensable to teach symbols for fractions (1/2, 1/3...) in preschool or kindergarten.
Young children are working towards the following, skills that are indispensable for more developed fraction concepts in time to come grades:
being able to visualize fractions and
understanding that fraction segments are equal parts of a larger object,
Introduce fractions with cooking, stories, and games
Cooking activities introduce children to the language of fractions and help them link fractions to their daily experiences. As they take part in these activities, children become well-known with fraction terms such as whole, part, half, third, quarters. For example - Cut the muffin in half, fill the cup half full, let's use part of the whole orange, put peanut butter on one half of the bread and jam on the other half of the bread, cut the sandwich in quarters...
Use fraction math manipulatives and toys with puppets to make up straightforward stories
Here is a sample circle time story using an apple fraction toy, 2 puppets and a basket:
Marty the Moose heard a knock on his door (knock on the chalkboard). He opened the door (squeak) and there was his friend, Sam the squirrel..
Improvise and have the puppets take turns cutting the apples and sharing them out, keeping in mind that the goal is to introduce and help the children be well-known with the idea of equal sized pieces that are a part of a whole object and fraction terms such as halves, quarters, thirds.
Play straightforward small group fraction games
Depending on your class size you may need to split the class into small groups, having one half working at independent math centers with modeling clay, drawing, blocks or puzzles and the other half playing the fraction game. As children play games and play with fraction toys they will gain fraction number sense.
The more time children have to play with fraction toys and manipulatives, the more their capability to visualize fractions as equal parts of a whole will increase. For easy fraction game ideas go http://www.kindergarten-lessons.com/fraction_games.html
share the Facebook Twitter Like Tweet. Can you share a knockout post How To Teach Fractions to Preschool and Kindergarten Students.
No comments:
Post a Comment