Rational Numbers and Proportional Reasoning

URL: http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/learningmath/number/session8/index.html

1007936

In this workshop session, elementary and middle school teachers look at ways to interpret, model and work with rational numbers and to explore the basics of proportional reasoning. These ideas are investigated through interactive applets, problem sets, and a video of teachers solving one of the problems. This is session 8 of Learning Math: Number and Operations, a free online course.

Summary

Subject keyword(s)	Arithmetic, Fractions, Mathematics, Number and operations, Number sense, Ratio and proportion
Grade level	Elementary School, Middle School, Vocational/Professional Development Education
Intended audience	Educator, Professional/Practitioner
Resource type	Instructional Material
Resource format	text, text/html
Rights	1997-2007 Annenberg Media. All rights reserved.

Found in collection(s)

Click on the logo to get more information about the collection.

Title	Middle School Portal: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2)
Link	http://msteacher2.org/
Description	The Middle School Portal 2: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2) supports middle grades educators with high-quality, standards-based resources and promotes collaboration and knowledge-sharing among its users. Educators use MSP2 to increase content knowledge in science, mathematics, and appropriate pedagogy for youth ages 10 to 15. MSP2 employs social networking and digital tools to foster dynamic experiences that promote creation, modification, and sharing of resources, facilitate professional development, and support the integration of technology into practice. MSP2 is a project of the Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology, National Middle School Association, and Education Development Center, Inc., and is funded by the National Science Foundation. The partners integrate resources, tools, and services across projects, and support multiple methods of resource discovery to meet the needs of this audience.
	Full description and distribution of resources

Content contained within the resource

      In this session, we will look at ways to interpret, model and work with rational numbers. We will examine various ways to determine the "unit" of the ratio we're expressing with a rational number and to explore the basics of proportional reasoning. For information on required and/or optional materials, see Note 1. Part A: Interpreting Fractions, Units, and Unitizing Part B: Fractions With Cuisenaire Rods Part C: Absolute and Relative Reasoning Homework     In this session, you will do the following: •  Understand fractions in both part-part and part-whole interpretations •  Understand units and unitizing •  Learn how to use Cuisenaire Rods to represent and model computation with fractions •  Understand the differences between absolute and relative thinking and their relationships to mathematical operations •  Learn that proportional reasoning is an example of relative or multiplicative thinking Throughout the session you will be prompted to view short video segments. In addition to these excerpts, you may choose to watch the full-length video of this session. Previously Introduced: New in This Session:   rational numbers absolute comparison part-part interpretation part-whole interpretation relative comparison   Cuisenaire ® Rods are used with permission of ETA/Cuisenaire®. Next > Part A: Interpreting Fractions, Units, and Unitizing Learning Math Home | Number Home | Glossary | Map | © Session 8: Index | Notes | Solutions | Video Home | Catalog | About Us | Search | Contact Us| Site Map Tweet | © Annenberg Foundation 2012. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy