Divide Whole Numbers by Unit Fractions
10 min
Narrative
The purpose of this Warm-up is for students to describe the rectangles in the representation of a quilt, which will be useful when students divide strips of paper into unit fraction sized pieces in a later activity. While students may notice and wonder many things about this image, the variety of lengths and colors of fabric strips is the important discussion point.
Launch
- Groups of 2
- Display the image.
- “What do you notice? What do you wonder?”
- 1 minute: quiet think time
Teacher Instructions
- “Discuss your thinking with your partner.”
- 1 minute: partner discussion
- Share and record responses.
Student Task
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Sample Response
Students may notice:
- There is a woman sewing a quilt.
- There is string and scissors.
- There is a kid watching.
Students may wonder:
- Who is that woman?
- What does the rest of the blanket look like?
- Did she sew the whole thing?
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
- “These pictures show women from Gee's Bend, Alabama, who have been making quilts for generations. How would you describe the quilt they are working on?” (It is colorful. There are rectangles. There are different colored pieces of fabric.)
- Consider showing students examples of abstract or improvised quilts by Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers from the website of Souls Grown Deep.
Standards
- 5.NF.7.b·Interpret division of a whole number by a unit fraction, and compute such quotients. <em>For example, create a story context for 4 ÷ (1/5), and use a visual fraction model to show the quotient. Use the relationship between multiplication and division to explain that 4 ÷ (1/5) = 20 because 20 × (1/5) = 4.</em>
- 5.NF.B.7.b·Interpret division of a whole number by a unit fraction, and compute such quotients. <span>For example, create a story context for <span class="math">\(4 \div (1/5)\)</span>, and use a visual fraction model to show the quotient. Use the relationship between multiplication and division to explain that <span class="math">\(4 \div (1/5) = 20~\)</span> because <span class="math">\(20 \times (1/5) = 4\)</span>.</span>
20 min
15 min
Knowledge Components
All skills for this lesson
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Divide Whole Numbers by Unit Fractions
10 min
Narrative
The purpose of this Warm-up is for students to describe the rectangles in the representation of a quilt, which will be useful when students divide strips of paper into unit fraction sized pieces in a later activity. While students may notice and wonder many things about this image, the variety of lengths and colors of fabric strips is the important discussion point.
Launch
- Groups of 2
- Display the image.
- “What do you notice? What do you wonder?”
- 1 minute: quiet think time
Teacher Instructions
- “Discuss your thinking with your partner.”
- 1 minute: partner discussion
- Share and record responses.
Student Task
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Sample Response
Students may notice:
- There is a woman sewing a quilt.
- There is string and scissors.
- There is a kid watching.
Students may wonder:
- Who is that woman?
- What does the rest of the blanket look like?
- Did she sew the whole thing?
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
- “These pictures show women from Gee's Bend, Alabama, who have been making quilts for generations. How would you describe the quilt they are working on?” (It is colorful. There are rectangles. There are different colored pieces of fabric.)
- Consider showing students examples of abstract or improvised quilts by Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers from the website of Souls Grown Deep.
Standards
- 5.NF.7.b·Interpret division of a whole number by a unit fraction, and compute such quotients. <em>For example, create a story context for 4 ÷ (1/5), and use a visual fraction model to show the quotient. Use the relationship between multiplication and division to explain that 4 ÷ (1/5) = 20 because 20 × (1/5) = 4.</em>
- 5.NF.B.7.b·Interpret division of a whole number by a unit fraction, and compute such quotients. <span>For example, create a story context for <span class="math">\(4 \div (1/5)\)</span>, and use a visual fraction model to show the quotient. Use the relationship between multiplication and division to explain that <span class="math">\(4 \div (1/5) = 20~\)</span> because <span class="math">\(20 \times (1/5) = 4\)</span>.</span>