Why Slice Fractions Math Recreation Is the Recreation College students Beg To Play
Slice Fractions is a free and ad-free math recreation designed for elementary college students and accessible on PlayMath.org. As a substitute of memorizing guidelines or filling out worksheets, children information a woolly mammoth by way of 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 components of an entire. There aren’t any timers, no directions, and no stress. College students study by tinkering, attempting, 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 almost three a long time serving to college students and lecturers uncover that math might be revolutionary, partaking, and purposeful. She is aware of that fractions are one of the vital difficult ideas for elementary college students, who usually wrestle to visualise what numbers like ⅓ or ¼ truly imply.
Kristen was excited to evaluate Slice Fractions as a result of it provides college students a technique to “see” fractions, examine them, and construct actual understanding by way of play. Her classroom expertise exhibits that when college students use Slice Fractions, they’re not simply training math, they’re speaking, collaborating, and genuinely excited to study.
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 assume Slice Fractions is finest suited? Why?
Slice Fractions is nicely fitted to elementary grades, particularly 2nd by way of 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 strive 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 components of an entire and splitting shapes into equal components.
- 4th Grade: Evaluating and ordering fractions with completely different numerators and denominators.
How did you utilize Slice Fractions in your classroom?
Ordering fractions might be robust for college kids. College students can’t visualize that ⅓ is greater than ¼. Since there’s a 4 within the denominator of 1 fraction, college students normally assume it should 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 matters PlayMath.org might gamify. They shared concepts about how one can gamify decimal studying. That is thrilling stuff!
An awesome characteristic—and profit—of the Slice Fractions recreation is that my college students wanted time to tinker and mess around with all components of it. Finishing a degree become a full dialogue of what to do first. As soon as they figured it out, my college students progressed by way of the degrees and chatted about how they received to every degree and what to search for. Some memorable feedback included:
- “Dude, you need to pop the bubbles!”
- “Who’s the elephant?”
- “No, I believe that’s a woolly mammoth.”
- “What ought to we identify him?”
Perhaps these feedback don’t sound academic to you, however right here’s the factor: My class loved the sport a lot they requested after we might play once more. It grew to become a whole-class occasion, with everybody collaborating and discussing options. My college students had been challenged by the physics side however gained a deeper conceptual understanding of fractions.
How simple was it to make use of Slice Fractions and implement it in your classroom?
Slice Fractions was simple 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 may be distributed to units through 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 how one can get the woolly mammoth on the trail.
Boo was intriguing to play too as a result of it concerned loads of trial and error with the proper sequence. Who knew portray pumpkins might 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 will not be timed. Time ought to by no means be an element in case you are problem-solving in math.
- The web site is totally free and doesn’t have any annoying adverts.
- The video games should not 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 instructing simpler?
Academics wrestle to seek out further methods for college kids to follow their math. Worksheets are normally their go-to. College students have to be engrossed of their studying, however worksheets are boring and uninteresting. Gamifying math piques their curiosity whereas training and conceptualizing the mathematics they’re studying within the classroom. PlayMath.org provides college students the assist of studying in a extra visible means in comparison with a conventional classroom.
Trainer Picks is a sponsored program accessible from We Are Academics. All opinions shared within the evaluate are sincere and primarily based on the trainer’s direct expertise. To study extra about our pointers and evaluate course of, click on right here.
