Ask students to complete the problems in the Labeling Fractions on Number Lines pages in the Student Activity Book. In Questions 1–2, students label marks on the number line with fractions. A common mistake is to count the number of marks between 0 and 1 and use that as the denominator in the fraction labels. For example, in Question 1, there are 2 marks between 0 and 1, so students might incorrectly label the marks with halves. Comparing the number line to the fraction strip helps students count the number of parts instead of the number of marks. They see that the rectangle and number line are divided into 3 parts, so they should be labeled with thirds.
- In Question 1, how many equal parts is the rectangle divided into? (3)
- How many parts is the number line divided into? (also 3)
- There are 2 marks between 0 and 1 on the number line. Should I label it with halves? (No. The number line is divided into 3 parts, like the rectangle, so you label it with thirds.)
In Questions 3–5, students label number lines from 0 to 2, but the unit whole is still the interval from 0 to 1.
- In Question 5, how did you know how to label the number line? (I used eighths because I counted 8 parts between the 0 and 1.)
- Name a fraction you labeled that is less than 1. (Possible answers: 1/8, 2/8, 3/8, 4/8, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8)
- 10/8 is between 1 and 2 on the number line. Why? (Possible answer: It is greater than 1. It is an improper fraction. I know because the numerator is greater than the denominator.)
- Is there another name for this fraction? (12/8)
The Representing Fractions pages in the Student Activity Book provide practice representing fractions in two ways. Students can work on them in class or complete them as homework.
Use the Representing Fractions pages with the Feedback Box in the Student Activity Book to assess students' abilities to represent fractions using fraction strips and number lines [E1] and name and represent fractions greater than one using fraction strips and number lines [E5].
The Workshop in Lesson 7 provides targeted practice. The game Show Me from Lesson 2 can also be tailored to provide targeted practice with these expectations.
