Author Archives: AnnMaria De Mars

Introducing Division

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📖 Standard

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NBT.B.6:
Find whole-number quotients and remainders with up to four-digit dividends and one-digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

⏰ LESSON TIME

30 minutes 

📃 SUMMARY

This lesson plan introduces the concepts and vocabulary of division and provides students the opportunities to practice both recognition and recall of division facts. Math literacy activities are recommended to help students remember and understand math terms. Students can play the Making Camp Premium game, with division with one-digit divisors or Making Camp Lakota which includes one- and two-digit divisors.

📲 Technology required

The games, Making Camp Premium and Making Camp Lakota can be played on any web browser – Chrome, Firefox, Bing, etc or downloaded on iOS or Android devices. The Making Camp Premium game can be played with or without an Internet connection. Internet is required to log in to the Making Camp Lakota game with username and password. Both games are available at no extra charge to schools with a 7 Generation Games site license or who are part of the Growing Math Project.

📚 Lesson Plan

1. Introductory mini-lecture

5-7 minutes

  1. Explain why division is important. When we want to share something, whether it is the hours spent doing chores or a birthday cake, we divide it.
  2. Tell students they will be taking notes on the videos, writing down key words that appear in the video (e.g. quotient, dividend) and their definitions for review at the end of the session. (Math literacy helps with identifying math terms; textbooks will start to make sense.)

2. Watch Videos

7 minutes

Division Terms

What’s division? How do we use division every day? 3:31 minutes

The Division terms video is included in Making Camp Lakota, a game teaching division and Lakota history. It is also in the Making Camp Premium game. Before starting the video remind students to be ready to take notes.

Division (Multiplication in Reverse)

Why is learning multiplication important for learning division? 2:41 Minutes

3. Game Play

15 minutes

Play Making Camp Premium for multiplication and division.

Making Camp Premium can be played online on any computer (Windows, Mac, Chrome), or you can download it for your phone or tablet (iOS and Android). This game is part of the 7 Generation Games school license and also available as part of the Growing Math project.

The division magnets game practices division of one-digit numbers into two digit numbers, like 35 ÷ 5.

There are also games for multiplication and a lot of videos and games on history and English/ language arts. Making Camp Premium also teaches about Ojibwe history and culture.

For more division, play Making Camp Lakota.

In mathematics content, Making Camp Lakota focuses only on division, combined with, of course, Lakota history and culture. With development funded by the Thunder Valley Community Development Corp. this game is free to play on the web or downloadable for iPad or Android tablets.

ASSESSMENT

This lesson plan includes two types of assessment.

  1. You can view your students’ progress on mastering these standards by viewing your Making Camp Premium Teacher Reports. See an example below.
Student data by standard from Making Camp Premium
Sample Student Report

2. To assess student understanding of math vocabulary, review their notes written while viewing the division terms video.

Related Content

We have a YouTube division playlist! The videos above are part of a five-video series clues students in on everything from dividends to long division with remainders. (And they are short, ranging from one and a half to three and a half minutes each.) These videos can be played on any device in class or at home.

State Standards

Minnesota Math Standard 4.1.1.6 – Use strategies and algorithms based on knowledge of place value, equality and properties of operations to divide multi-digit whole numbers by one- or two-digit numbers. Strategies may include mental strategies, partial quotients, the commutative, associative, and distributive properties and repeated subtraction.

Minnesota Math Standard 5.1.1.1 – Divide multi-digit numbers, using efficient and generalizable procedures, based on knowledge of place value, including standard algorithms. Recognize that quotients can be represented in a variety of ways, including a whole number with a remainder, a fraction or mixed number, or a decimal.

Time Rate Distance Problems

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📖 Standards

CCSS.Math.Content.7.EE.B.3
Solve multi-step real-life and mathematical problems posed with positive and negative rational numbers in any form (whole numbers, fractions, and decimals), using tools strategically. Apply properties of operations to calculate with numbers in any form; convert between forms as appropriate; and assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies.

CCSS.Math.Content.4.NBT.B.5 Multiply a whole number of up to four digits by a one-digit whole number, and multiply two two-digit numbers, using strategies based on place value and the properties of operations. (Common Core Standards)

📃 Summary

Time-rate-distance problems are word problems that involve the distance an object will travel at a certain average rate for a given period of time. Because we have found many students struggle with this type of problem, we find it so helpful to have multiple examples through videos, slides, and through a video game. In all of these problems, students solve for distance. Video, game and presentation resources are available in both English and Spanish.

The formula for distance problems is: 

distance = rate × time or d = r × t

📲 Technology required

The game AzTech: The Story Begins can be played for free on iOS (iPad and iPhone) and in a web browser on any computer. The game can be installed in an iPad and played off-line by students who do not have reliable Internet access.

⏰ Time required

15-25 minutes – time varies depending upon discussion of questions and length of game play allowed.

📚 Lesson Plan

Watch video introducing students to Time-Rate-Distance problems

Introducing time-rate-distance problems 3:04

This brief video uses number bonds as one means of finding the total number of hours, then multiplies hours by rate to find the total distance. We work step by step through an example to find how far Spanish troops needed to ride to attack the Aztecs.

2. Video or Presentation of time-rate-distance example

How many miles did Grandma drive? 1:24

Teaching Options

Students can watch another video solving for distance. If it takes 2 1/2 days to get to Honduras from Iowa, and Grandma drives 60 miles per hour without stopping, what is the distance from Iowa to Honduras? This video solves the problem step by step, beginning with converting 2.5 days to hours.

Alternatively, teachers can use this presentation as PowerPoint or in Google slides to present the same material either in class or in a web meeting. These presentations are also available in Spanish as PowerPoint and in Spanish as Google slides.

3. Video or Presentation of a second time-rate-distance example

How far is Iowa from Texas? 1:19

Teaching Options

Students can watch another video solving for distance. If it takes Grandpa one day to get from Iowa to Texas and he drives 55 miles per hour, what is the distance from Iowa to Texas? This video shows, step by step, how to solve this problem.

Alternatively, teachers can use this presentation as PowerPoint or in Google slides to present the same material either in class or in a web meeting. These presentations are also available in Spanish as PowerPoint and in Spanish as Google slides.

Assessment

Bonus question in level 1 of AzTech: The Story Begins

Play AzTech: The Story Begins. Not only will students have fun and be exposed to educational content on Latin American history, but they will also have to answer mathematics questions to progress. Instruct students to be sure to answer the first bonus question, shown above. Remind them that the icon at the bottom of the screen can be used to pull up a calculator. (There is no arrow on the screen in the game. It is merely shown above for emphasis.) Once students have played the game, you can look in the AzTech teacher reports to see an individual students response. You will need to know your students’ usernames. To see an example of a report, enter the username “ddtester” .

State Standards

Minnesota Math Standard 6.2.3.2 – Solve equations involving positive rational numbers using number sense, properties of arithmetic and the idea of maintaining equality on both sides of the equation. Interpret a solution in the original context and assess the reasonableness of results.

Minnesota Math Standard 7.1.2.1 – Add, subtract, multiply and divide positive and negative rational numbers that are integers, fractions and terminating decimals; use efficient and generalizable procedures, including standard algorithms; raise positive rational numbers to whole-number exponents.

Minnesota Math Standard 4.1.1.3 – Multiply multi-digit numbers, using efficient and generalizable procedures, based on knowledge of place value, including standard algorithms.

Subtracting Fractions: Like denominators

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📖 Standards

CCSS.Math.Content.5.NF.A.2 Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions referring to the same whole, including cases of unlike denominators, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem. Use benchmark fractions and number sense of fractions to estimate mentally and assess the reasonableness of answers. For example, recognize an incorrect result 2/5 + 1/2 = 3/7, by observing that 3/7 < 1/2.

📃 Summary

After this lesson, students will know how to solve multi–step word problems using addition and subtraction of fractions with like (common) denominators. After watching the video, students will login to “Aztech: The Story Begins” on a device with the website or application. Students will be faced with a fractions problem in Level 1 which uses a calendar to find the fraction of days students did homework. The game character points out that 16/31 may not be “all the time” but it is still more than half. Throughout the game, students will be presented with AzTech history.

⏰ Time required

30 -45 minutes, including individual assessment

📲 Technology required

The game in this lesson plan can be played on the web on any Chromebook, Mac or Windows computer with reliable Internet access. If students do not have high-speed Internet at home, the game can be pre-loaded on to iPads and played offline with no Internet required.

📚 Lesson Plan

1. Video: Adding Like Fractions

Adding fractions with common denominators 1:10

“Like fractions” are those with the same denominator. This is also called a common denominator. How do you add like fractions? This quick video from the game Fish Lake has simple examples of comparing fractions and fraction addition.

2. Presentation or video: When is a fraction the same as 1 ?

Understanding that N/N = 1 for any number 3:32

If the numerator and denominator are the same, then this fraction equals 1. N/N = 1 How can you apply your knowledge of fractions to help you figure out how far you’ve gone on your trip and how much further you have to go? Teachers can either have students watch the video or use this 27-slide presentation in both Google slides format and PowerPoint. Both include examples of fractions of 8/8 , 3/3 and 4/4 all equaling one. Examples include distance, money and a bowl of stew.

3. Game: Play AzTech – The Story Begins

Students will login to “Aztech: The Story Begins” on a device with the website or application. Students using Chromebook, Mac or Windows computers can play on the web here. Students using an iPad can download the app here. Throughout the game, students will be presented with Aztech history. Students will be faced with fraction and statistic examples, leading to similar problems that need to be solved.

Estimated time for this portion: 10 minutes.

Assessment

Individual Assessment

Use this template to have students create their own fraction equation.

It includes a calendar template and these instructions:

Use this template to show what you did most in the last month when you weren’t in school.  

  • First, make a copy in your own Google Drive.
  • Second, put a 1 in the calendar for the first day of this month and continue until all days of the month are filled. 
  • Third, make a picture or write what you did each day in each of the boxes. 
  • Fourth, write your own fraction equation like this:
    • On 11/31 of the days, I played games on the computer.
    • On  7/31 of the days I worked planting my garden
    • On 13/31 of the days I was doing homework.

11/31 + 7/31 + 13/31  =   31/31

Of course, if there are 28 or 30 days in the month, your denominator will be different.

Group Assessment

Use the video below to solve the problem from Level 1 in AzTech: The Story Begins as a group. This video shows the problem from level 1 on finding the fraction of days Xitlali did homework and gives a hint on how to solve it. Ask the students why Xitlali said that 16/31 was more than half. How did she know? Introduce the concept of equivalent fractions.

Fraction problem using a calendar

State Standards

Minnesota State Standard 4.1.2.3 – Use fraction models to add and subtract fractions with like denominators in real-world and mathematical situations. Develop a rule for addition and subtraction of fractions with like denominators.

Introducing Fractions

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📖 Standards

CCSS.Math.Content.3.NF.A.1 Understand a fraction 1/b as the quantity formed by 1 part when a whole is partitioned into b equal parts

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NF.B.3 Understand a fraction a/b with a > 1 as a sum of fractions 1/b.

📃 Summary

The student will learn the definition of fraction, parts of fractions and how fractions have been used in past and present. This lesson begins with a video example of how fractions could be used by Native Americans to keep track of time. Next, a presentation is used to give a definition of fraction, numerator and denominator. Both the presentation and the second video use one-half as an example of a fraction. Other videos and presentation in the lesson divide a whole into fourths. The entire lesson takes 30-40 minutes.

📚 Lesson Plan

1. Video: An example of how our ancestors used fractions

How Native Americans used fractions 1:21

This video explains how a whole area, such as a lake, could be broken into equal parts and how that knowledge could be applied to tell time, thereby avoiding the danger of going home in the dark.

2. Presentation: Definitions of fractions, numerator and denominator

This presentation, with 25 slides, defines a fraction and each of its parts. One-half is used as an example of a fraction. You can access this presentation as Google Slides or PowerPoint. We estimate it takes about 7 minutes, with pauses for student input.

3. Video: Is one-half fair?

When something is divided into two equal parts, that is one-half 1:22

How many times have you heard kids insist something wasn’t fair? This video uses fractions and the concept of one-half to determine if two people are doing the their fair share of the work, getting their fair share of a pile of blankets.

4. Video: What is half

What is one half? 1:40


In this example of meeting between two camps, students will learn the definition of one-half and how to apply this knowledge to determine if the distribution of effort is fair. The video provides both examples of one-half – a whole divided into two equal parts – and non-examples, when a whole is divided into two unequal parts.

5. Presentation: Using fractions

This presentation, with 13 slides, gives an example of dividing a trail into four equal parts, fourths, or quarters. Zoongey Giniw sets his snares at four spots, equal distances apart on the trail. The presentation is available in PowerPoint or Google Slides. We estimate it takes about 5 minutes.

6. Video: Why Snare Rabbits?

Why Turtle Mountain has a Jackrabbit Road :58

Why is Zoongey Giniw snaring rabbits? As Turtle Mountain elder, Deb Gourneau explains in this video, when the Ojibwe people on the Turtle Mountain reservation did not have deer to eat and could not leave the reservation, they escaped starvation by snaring rabbits.

7. Game Play: Fish Lake

Students can play Fish Lake on Mac or Windows computers or iPad. Fish Lake covers fractions a long list of fractions standards. Recommended time: 15 minutes. Teachers in the Growing Math program receive licenses for Fish Lake for all of their students. If you need a license, please email info@7generationgames.com

8. Game Play: Forgotten Trail

Learn Fractions and statistics: Playable on Chromebook

If your students don’t have access to iPads, Mac or Windows computers and are using Chromebooks, they can play Forgotten Trail, which teaches this fraction standard, as well as standards for measurement and data. You can see the full list here. Recommended time: 15 minutes. Teachers in the Growing Math program receive licenses for Forgotten Trail for all of their students. If you need a license, please email info@7generationgames.com

9. Next lesson: Adding fractions with like denominators

Once you have introduced fractions, the next step we recommend is adding and comparing fractions with a common denominator.

Assessment

Assessment is built into the presentation as students are asked how they would write Long Foot’s portion of the buffalo as a fraction. There is a test of all of the fractions standards taught in Fish Lake here. It can be used as a pre- and post-test to show growth or at the end of a unit on fractions.

State Standards

Minnesota Math Standard 3.1.3.2 – Understand that the size of a fractional part is relative to the size of the whole.