Saturday, March 28, 2009

Questions and Answers

As our ELED 330 class went into the fractions unit, I had many questions about fractions because of my background with adding, multiplying, dividing, and subtracting fractions. When I learned fractions in grade school, I don’t remember using so many models. It’s refreshing to know that when I teach fractions, that I will be able to provide and use many different types of models in my classroom. Also, I have a clearer view of the different methods that can be used in helping solve fraction problems dealing with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. My question at the beginning of this unit was, what method should be taught to help children learn more about fractions? I now know that the students should have the opportunity to look at a problem first and find their own methods. Since I want to teach elementary, a good way to let children explore their own methods in fraction problems would be through literature.