1. Enhancing the teaching of problem solving involving fractions Cheryl McAllister Southeast Missouri State University MCTM December 2009 http://cstl-csm.semo.edu/mcallister/mainpage

2. Topics for today The real life situations that generate the mathematics we do with fractions Writing fraction word problems for specific operations Solving fraction word problems

3. Operations with fractions Using manipulatives to reinforce what it means to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions. Addition – joining two sets Subtraction – take-away or comparison of two sets Multiplication – area of a rectangle or scaling Division – partitive or measurement

4. Problem solving using operations with fractions Examples of problems using different contexts Have students write their own problems, then trade with other students Encourage students to draw diagrams to better understand word problems. What is the whole? What operation does the word problem describe? Does the answer make sense?