Looking for new ways of converting and comparing rational numbers? Check out these great tips that are certain to help you and your students!
Converting and Comparing Rational Numbers
We start our year off with working with Rational Numbers in 7th Grade. I seriously spend the ENTIRE 1st 6 weeks working on various forms of them and I personally love Rational Numbers enough that I could spend the entire year doing it.
In thinking of some “different” things to do with the unit, I decided that once we got through working things out in our INB, we needed to do some visuals with as limited guidelines as possible.
Benchmark Number Line
So after working on conversions, comparing and what not, I brought out a Benchmark Number Line. We went over that together, placed some random rational numbers where they went and talked about equivalencies, greater than, less than, and conversions. Things were good.
Fast forward a few days and I gave my students a blank piece of white paper. OH MY! I then also gave them a card with 4 rational numbers on it as a part of the Comparing and Ordering Rational Numbers assessment tool I created. Before I gave them the card, I demonstrated what I was looking for and we reviewed the skills we had learned last week. I used a different number than was on any of the cards because I knew that they would just copy directly if I didn’t.
Okay, now the real test… let them do it! I wanted color, I wanted it to be fun and boy did they give me that. I still have a few classes completing it because we took longer during the “review” but that’s okay. Here are some examples of the work my students did.
Learning Can Be Fun, Too!
I love creating “assessments” like this because little do they know that it’s a test of mastery of some of their skills, they think it’s time to color and make things pretty much less review some math skills. I will say that EVERY SINGLE STUDENT had out their INB’s during this time and was referring back to the Fraction, Decimals and Percents Conversions Foldable we created in class. This made me smile something big! I can totally see a difference in their learning and them taking responsibility for what is staying with them. LOVE IT!
What is something you have done in your classroom lately that has totally made you fall in love with teaching all over again?
