Fractions and Telling Time

Use lots of “concrete” before moving to symbols (a clock is a symbol). Sit down together with a timer or clock with second-hand and “feel” how long is a minute, five minutes, etc.
Then, relate to chunks on the clock. Teach student to self-monitor time by using a timer for tasks/activities. They then begin to “feel” time passing. If you are monitoring, they are not thinking about it—only listening more passively to you monitor it.

Use manipulatives for fractions—I like cuisinaire rods—but pattern blocks work well for parents. Let child explore and make observations first. If possible, pick up on their observations. Finally, you can even use time concept with round (clock shaped) pattern, 1/4 circle and 1/2 circle for their segments of an hour respectively.

Be sure to talk about what you are demonstrating with manipulatives. That uses visual and auditory channels together which is a more powerful learning aid.

This is brief and over simplified, but might get you started.

Good starter ideas. We’ve had a lot of discussion on these topics before and I posted several ideas, some of them quite long. Try the search button and see what you can find in the old posts, and ask again and I’ll try to dig up copies if you can’t find them.

Thanks for the input. I did do the search and found some old info. I appreciate your responses. Off we go into the world of time!

With my step-daughter,who has NLD, we started having her check the clock before starting an activity or driving somewhere. She would then check the clock again when we arrived (or she finished the sctivity). After doing this for some time and asking her to figure out the elapsed time (very difficult), we moved to asking her to estimate how long something would take and then have her check her estimate when done. This helped a lot. Prior to that we would drive to a movie theater around the corner and she would think we were at the movie theater by her mother’s house-75 miles away!!

The fractions have been harder. She just finished 4th grade and we are still working with fractions strips-available at any educational supply store. Mostly she does not “get” reduction, simplest form, and equivalent fractions without having the strips in front of her. Trying to use it in a way that makes sense helps with her. We throw “real life” problems out because for her they make more sense than a problem on a page in a book, but then we do the “real life” problem on paper and show the solution her teacher would be looking for.

I hope tis adds some more ideas.

Great ideas - I especially like the estimate of time - my daughter’s the same. No context of time and she’s going into 4th grade. I think the only problem with the estimating is that when something’s difficult my daughter tends to be uhmmm…. “uncooperative”, yeah, that’s a good word. What carrot do you use to get her to cooperate?

She is a child who is very eager to please (a double edged sword) so that isn’t an issue, we have found more that she won’t answer a question because she is afraid of having the wrong answer. She doesn’t get uncooperative (which at times I would prefer) but avoids answering the question. We have to be very careful that she is answering to compete with herself by being closer than the last time, and we try to do it when the other 2 in the family (for whom everything math comes easily) aren’t around when we are doing this.

But beating yourself seems to be a “carrot” that works self-esteem wise because she is so used to having the wrong answer that she almost doesn’t trust herself.

Leah, I hope when you back in your archives you find my posts on the book “Telling Time One Hand at a Time” (available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble). Everyone here has given helpful suggestions, but this book will show you how to teach time step by step. I had a huge success in teaching my son to tell time using this book—unfortunately, though, it has not cured his total lack of interest in knowing how long things take. Nonetheless, he can tell time and figure our how much time has elapsed perfectly now.

Marie,

Actually I didn’t see that post, but I will look at the book - I wonder if they have it at Barnes & Noble? I am a frequent Starbucks coffee customer. I’m defiintely NOT a teacher and so I really need something that’s really easy. Thanks for your help.

There are several good ideas for teaching fractions that involve food. First is M&M Math. There is a website for this. Secondly is pizza. This is how I introduce the concept to my students. For example the denominator represents the total amount of slices in a pizza and once everyone starts eating discuss how much of the pizza has been eaten (each piece eaten represents the numerator). If you don’t want to buy a pizza, several of the educational supply websites have a pizza game that works just as well. Also include your daughter when you are cooking, especially when using a recipe. This is such an easy way of making fractions realistic and fun to use.

I love the cooking idea for fractions!! Would you recommmend using a regular measuring cup that has all of the measurements or using the individual cups?

Use individual cups so that you can practice adding or subtracting fractions by either increasing or decreasing your recipe. The all-in-one cup can become confusing to a child. Also by using individual cups you can discuss volume as well (may as well bring science into the picture!) What I do in the classroom is give a scenario in which we have to double the recipe, such as making chocolate chip cookies for 20 people, and my question to my students is how do we do that? They love making the cookies and we continue with this exercise using other types of foods (mostly cookies!). It has been really successful. M&M Math also allows you to introduce other areas of math such as graphing.

Leah, I have copied my old post pitching this great little book. I ordered it on line, but I’m sure you could order it through the store if you’d rather do that and pick up a latte at the same time. Marie

Author: Mariedc
Date: 02-07-02 16:47

I can attest the one hand method really works. I’ve been meaning to write a post on this mainly to thank Robin G. who
recommended it in a post here a number of months ago. There is a book called One Hand at a Time (available through
Amazon or Barnes & Noble) that gives you a lot of sequential, hands-on, activities to do to teach telling time…one hand at a
time, starting with the hour hand. It is aimed at elementary school teachers, but works just as well at home.

My 11 year old could not tell time on an analog clock at all (unless the hour was directly on the o’clock). Due to
overwhelming homework, I waited until winter break to get him going on the One Hand activities. I spent at least an hour and
a half a day (broken into two sessions) for seven days going through the activities. He now tells time perfectly!!…Not fast, he
hesitates a bit, but perfectly. He can even tell me how many minutes it is before the hour. (The book has activities on the
before/after stuff.)

I did not do every activity in the book (some were too childish) and cheated on the clock making…I used a teaching clock
after unscrewing one hand, and for some of the activities I used up to three teaching clocks.

I can’t thank Robin enough for suggesting this book. By learning to tell time, his sense of time has improved greatly and he
understands a lot more the necessity of getting home work started and done early. It has been a tremendous help. This book
has demonstrated to me how important the way something is taught is to having the child learn it. If only his school had used
the methods in this book in second or third grade….

Now, that sounds like a tasty way to teach math skills! =)

Kathy G.

Thanks Marie, I’ll go look for it this weekend.

Along with all the other great ideas you have gotten in this thread, don’t forget to make the language connection between time and fractions- 1/4 hour, half hour etc. A paper clock face makes a great manipulative and you can work the idea of equivalence in pretty seamlessly- 1/4 hour is the same as fifteen minutes, 1/10 hour is the same as six minutes… Endless amounts of play possibilities with this that you can apply in a huge variety of situations:)

Robin

Fractions and time are very difficult concepts that will take a lot of repeitition and drill and practice for your child to learn; however, do not become discouraged if she doen’st pick them up immediately. www.aaamath.com is a great drill and practice website that students love!!! A few minutes a day will improve your child’s math skills in all areas.
A great way to teach fractions is with food. Anything from a pizza to recipes. I have had great success using the small bags of Skittles. I have the students tell me the fraction of each color (Example 2/12 are purple). I then ask for the fraction of red and green, etc. The game can continue for a while and then they can eat a few and continue the game. You can also ask the fractin of all red Skittles in the class. Students also love making foods that thy can eat such as cookies, cupcakes, dirt etc. Anything that allows them to measure using fractions.
Helpful websites: www.Kraft.com for recipes www.aaamath.com for math drill and practice

I taught sixth grade one year in a Catholic school — regular sixth grade, lots of bright kids, the whole spectrum :)

So we’re talking about fractions and distances. Just about everybody could tell me what half of any given distance was (I had a big ol’ line drawn on the chalkboard).

ONe whole student had any idea what a third of a distance was. They all could tell me that the halfway point of a 12-mile-hike was 6 miles… but a third of the way? No, Pat, I know you already know this — see if anybody else can figure it out.

I don’t think these folks had had horrible teaching or anything — and I bet some of them could do the process with the symbols on the paper. I also bet that had we not been interrupted that some of those kiddos *could* have caught on…

Well — I wouldn’t necessarily blame their teachers, who were probably following the programs that they were given and teaching the way that they had been taught.
But this is yet another proof that the elementary math programs and teaching methods used in North America are just not working.
Kids as young as eight or nine, in Grades 3 or 4, should be able to find a third of a distance. If you are doing division — and some programs try to hurry it up as early as Grade 2 now — you can do a third. If you can’t, that means the math program is badly missing something. (And hurrying up and doing division early without making sure anyone knows what it means is part of the problem, not the solution; the time needs to be taken on meaning, not rushing through more and more misunderstood manipulations).
Finding two-thirds is harder; good Grade 4 students should be able to do it with models, and certainly Grade 5 students should be able to find two-thirds of a number divisible by three; good Grade 5 students even if it doesn’t come out even.
Fraction arithmetic should be pretty well mastered during grade 6 and reviewed/applied during Grade 7, so those kids were not where they should have been.
Two years later, when they hit pre-algebra and algebra in Grades 8 and 9, they will hit the brick wall when they meet 2/x and x/5 and y/x and (x-1)/(x+1). Then they will become part of the statistics of yet another cohort of students who fail/are failed by high school math and take remedial courses right through college. I know because I try to teach them. Unfortunately, if you lose out on fractions in Grade 5 and 6, there is very very little the college algebra teacher can do to get you back on track with those abstract fractions.

This sounds difficult to me (maybe b/c I always had trouble with fractions :) ). This is why I work and pay a tutor. I will, though, research all the ideas and see if I can find something that’s pretty user friendly. The skittles and M&M’s sounds like a great idea too. I think it just takes some creativity - which I greatly lack. Thanks.

In my opinion, a good way to relate math’ to the real life is by telling stories.
This reduces pressure of academic learning and makes it more fun.
While telling a story draw simple pictures to illustrate the idea
ex) Read or tell the story of the Three Little Pigs. As the story moves along and one pig after another loses his house, ask what fraction of pigs still have a house. And then while reading, have a big clock near by to determine how long it takes to read the story. This will give a relation between time and an event. 10 minutes is no longer an unfamiliar amount, but about the length of time it takes to read a story.

No problem. The reality is that fractions are a complicated concept- especially for young kids- and the reason they tend to have a hard time with the operations is because they do not have clear understanding of what is actually happening to the quantities when they work with them. So- as Victoria will tell you- and I think she mentioned above- it eventually harks back to how well you understand place value…

My point with time was not be confusing- but we do use fractional quantities and equivalencies in time on a regular basis- so if you are teaching fractions along with reading an analog clock it is a natural connection that is easily reinforced. And if you are cutting up those paper clock faces, well…The more contexts you can find to apply what you want him to learn- the more easily he will integrate it.

Another thought- and one reason I like the book “One Hand at a Time” so much- an analog clock is far and away the best tool for illustrating the passage of time- digital just doesn’t cut it.There is something about watching those hands go around…
Robin

It’s a good idea to have visuals to go with the stories — pictures of those pigs’ houses.

Yes. I agree your opinion.
I’m elementary school teacher in Korea.
And I’m majoring Speacial Education. This is homework. Writing opinions.
So I don’t know about this topic well.
But SLD student has to leran about math slowly more other student.
And Presentation is very important. Storytelling is good. and video is good.
During eating pizza, we can learn fraction.

Yes. I agree your opinion.
I’m elementary school teacher in Korea.
And I’m majoring Special Education. This is homework. Writing opinions.
So I don’t know about this topic well.
But MLD student has to learn about math slowly more other student.
And Presentation is very important. Storytelling is good. and video is good.
During eating pizza, we can learn fraction.

Transparent overlays are used for manipulatives. To show 1/2 then you have a white whole square, lay a 1/2 orange rectangle on top of the white square, then a clear overlay with one line down (vertical) the middle is laid on top. You now have 1/2. To show that 1/2 is equal to 3/6 then you lay transparent overlay that has 3 lines (horizontal) over your 1/2. Now you have 6 squares with 3 of them orange. This is now 3/6. I know this is hard to explain. I encourage you to go to the www.mathusee.com website to check it out.
HTH,
Jan P.