Slice Fractions is a free and ad-free math recreation designed for elementary college students and accessible on PlayMath.org. As an alternative of memorizing guidelines or filling out worksheets, youngsters information a woolly mammoth by icy puzzles, slicing obstacles and popping bubbles to discover fractions in motion. The sport is constructed for grades 2–6 and helps college students visualize how fractions work by partitioning shapes, evaluating sizes, and understanding elements of an entire. There aren’t any timers, no directions, and no strain. College students be taught by tinkering, making an attempt, and discussing methods with classmates, making math really feel like an journey as an alternative of a chore.
Kristen Acosta, a veteran math educator from West Covina, California, has spent practically three a long time serving to college students and lecturers uncover that math may be modern, participating, and purposeful. She is aware of that fractions are some of the difficult ideas for elementary college students, who typically wrestle to visualise what numbers like ⅓ or ¼ truly imply.
Kristen was excited to evaluate Slice Fractions as a result of it offers college students a method to “see” fractions, examine them, and construct actual understanding by play. Her classroom expertise exhibits that when college students use Slice Fractions, they’re not simply practising math, they’re speaking, collaborating, and genuinely excited to be taught.
Right here’s what educator Kristen Acosta needed to say about Slice Fractions and the PlayMath.org web site.
For which grade ranges do you suppose Slice Fractions is finest suited? Why?
Slice Fractions is nicely suited to elementary grades, particularly 2nd by sixth. Utilizing Slice Fractions in 2nd grade would assist put an image in college students’ heads as to what’s taking place with regard to fractions. The sport can be utilized for whole-group instruction, small-group instruction, enrichment, or intervention. College students can play with a associate or attempt it independently.
Does the sport align with any particular requirements or curriculum pointers?
Slice Fractions aligns with key fraction ideas in elementary math requirements:
- 2nd Grade: Partitioning circles and rectangles into equal shares, utilizing phrases like halves, thirds, and fourths.
- third Grade: Understanding fractions as elements of an entire and splitting shapes into equal elements.
- 4th Grade: Evaluating and ordering fractions with totally different numerators and denominators.
How did you utilize Slice Fractions in your classroom?
Ordering fractions may be robust for college students. College students can’t visualize that ⅓ is greater than ¼. Since there’s a 4 within the denominator of 1 fraction, college students often suppose it have to be larger (in comparison with the three in ⅓). I’ve used clothesline math to assist with ordering fractions with a number of representations, however college students nonetheless have difficulties as a result of they don’t have an image created of their heads. One part of Slice Fractions has college students determining ⅓ versus ¼. College students can bodily see the distinction between ⅓ and ¼.
How did your college students react to the video games on PlayMath.org?
One factor I cherished about our time taking part in video games on PlayMath.org is that my class started investigating and speaking about what different math subjects PlayMath.org may gamify. They shared concepts about the way to gamify decimal studying. That is thrilling stuff!
An amazing function—and profit—of the Slice Fractions recreation is that my college students wanted time to tinker and mess around with all elements of it. Finishing a stage become a full dialogue of what to do first. As soon as they figured it out, my college students progressed by the degrees and chatted about how they received to every stage and what to search for. Some memorable feedback included:
- “Dude, you need to pop the bubbles!”
- “Who’s the elephant?”
- “No, I feel that’s a woolly mammoth.”
- “What ought to we identify him?”
Possibly these feedback don’t sound academic to you, however right here’s the factor: My class loved the sport a lot they requested once we may play once more. It turned a whole-class occasion, with everybody taking part and discussing options. My college students had been challenged by the physics facet however gained a deeper conceptual understanding of fractions.
How straightforward was it to make use of Slice Fractions and implement it in your classroom?
Slice Fractions was straightforward to make use of within the classroom. It may be used for whole-group, associate work, particular person, enrichment, intervention, or small-group/rotations/math facilities. PlayMath.org is also distributed to gadgets by way of Google Classroom.
What did you want most about Slice Fractions and every other video games at PlayMath.org?
Slice Fractions is thought-provoking in that college students have to make use of logic and reasoning to find out the way to get the woolly mammoth on the trail.
Boo was intriguing to play too as a result of it concerned quite a lot of trial and error with the right sequence. Who knew portray pumpkins may very well be so intense?!
What makes PlayMath.org particular or distinctive in comparison with different websites you’ve utilized in your classroom?
PlayMath.org is critical for a lot of causes, together with:
- The video games and actions usually are not timed. Time ought to by no means be an element if you’re problem-solving in math.
- The web site is totally free and doesn’t have any annoying adverts.
- The video games don’t have any concrete written instructions. College students want to make use of instinct to tinker with what’s in entrance of them. They get an infinite variety of tries in addition to a fast assist video.
How will PlayMath.org prevent time or make educating simpler?
Academics wrestle to search out further methods for college students to observe their math. Worksheets are often their go-to. College students have to be engrossed of their studying, however worksheets are boring and uninteresting. Gamifying math piques their curiosity whereas practising and conceptualizing the maths they’re studying within the classroom. PlayMath.org offers college students the assist of studying in a extra visible method in comparison with a conventional classroom.
Instructor Picks is a sponsored program accessible from We Are Academics. All opinions shared within the evaluate are sincere and based mostly on the trainer’s direct expertise. To be taught extra about our pointers and evaluate course of, click here.
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