More Fraction Strips

Students will use strips to make fifths and tenths. Use discussion prompts similar to those in Part 1 to check for understanding as students fold, label, and color their strips.

To make green fifths strips, ask students for a strategy to fold their strips into five equal pieces. Students will probably realize that this is a difficult task without something to guide them. Students may suggest using their rulers to find out how long each strip is. They can then divide to find out how long each piece should be. The strips are each 20 cm long. When dividing into fifths, each piece should be four cm long. Students can use their rulers to mark each fold before making the creases. This method is shown in Figure 5. Make sure students draw lines to show their folds, label each piece 1/5, and color their strips green.

To fold a strip into ten equal pieces, students can first fold their strips into fifths and then fold these folded strips in half. Alternatively, they can use their rulers to divide the strip into pieces that are each 2 cm long. Students should mark folds, label each piece 1/10, and color their strips purple.

Students now have a complete set of fraction strips. This set should include one whole strip and strips folded into 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 12 equal pieces.