Class: Grade 6 Math
Task: Changing mixed numbers to improper fractions and improper fractions back to mixed numbers.
General Outcome – Develop number sense.
Specific Outcome – Relate improper fractions to mixed numbers and mixed numbers to improper fractions.
Part 1 – Changing Improper Fraction to Mixed Number
Introduction – Students will watch video on how to change an improper fraction to a mixed number.
Activity – Work on following questions with guidance from graphic:
Part 2 – Changing Mixed Number to Improper Fraction
Introduction – Students will watch video on how to change a mixed number to an improper fraction.
Activity – Work on following questions with guidance from graphic:
Discussion
I have created a lesson on changing between mixed and improper fractions. It is a straightforward skill to teach so I decided to use videos to give the students an explanation of all the steps involved in the process and simple graphics which they can refer to when working on the practice questions. I used representational graphics to help the students with the actual content they need know. The key to representational graphics is that they are intended to faithfully represent the “real” object. (Clark, R.C & Lyons, C. 2010) In this case the “real” object is the mathematical process.
I used two separate videos to break up the two concepts so the students can focus and master each skill individually. I could have taught both concepts on one video clip, however it wouldn’t have been as effective and may have confused some students giving them too much information at once. You can make videos on specific topics, sections, or other logical subsets of your lecture material. You can even record lessons on the topics that you notice students struggle with again and again. (Amboy, Dayna, 2017) I could see students replaying the video to learn the concept and to review before a testing situation.
References
Clark, R.C & Lyons, C. (2010). Three views of instructional visuals, In Graphics for Learning: Proven Guidelines for Planning, Designing and Evaluating Visuals in Training Materials. San Francisco: Pfeiffer, 15-28.
Amboy, Dayna, (2017), https://www.techsmith.com/blog/digital-learning-content
Hi Steve,
Great videos! I like the pace of the direct instruction. Your colour choice in your graphics is also clear and effective. I thought maybe the second graphic could have included step one for multiply and step two for add as it could appear a little confusing for some students. It also may be beneficial to have an answer key to the practice questions. Although, at the Grade 6 level, sometimes this is not a good idea! Great graphics and videos.
Markku