Doughn't Give Up on Dividing Fractions
My fifth-grade math class just finished a unit on multiplying and dividing fractions. The multiplying fractions part was, in the students' words, "too easy." It was not difficult for them to catch on that when we multiply 1/4 by 6, for example, that we were really counting six quarters. Both the concept and the execution (multiply numerator by numerator and denominator by denominator) seemed like a no-brainer to them. However, when we reached the fraction division, the learning screeched to a halt. The concept of taking one fraction and dividing it by another fraction was as foreign to the students as making a mix tape by recording songs off the radio. (You did that, too, right??) Anyway, I tried drawing pictures on the board, using a number line, and even making paper strips of various lengths to make this concept more visual for my students. And while these approaches may have worked for other students, mine simply weren't getting it. Frustrated,...