Introducing Ratios and Ratio Language
5 min
Teacher Prep
Setup
Narrative
In this Warm-up, students sort figures into categories based on the attributes that they see. The work here encourages students to describe quantities in different ways, preparing them to make sense of ratios later in the lesson.
Launch
Display the image for all to see. Give students 1 minute of quiet think time followed by 2 minutes of partner discussion.
Student Task
Think of different ways you could sort these figures. What categories could you use? How many groups would you have?
Sample Response
Sample responses:
- By area: Four groups: 2, 3, 4, and 5 square units
- By color: Four groups: blue, green, yellow, and white
- By pattern: Four groups: striped, dotted, cross-hatch, and blank
- By shape:
- Two groups: Rectangles and non-rectangles.
- Three groups: Rectangles, two different squares glued together, and L-shapes.
- Four groups: Squares, rectangles, two different squares glued together, and L-shapes.
- Seven groups: Small, medium, and large rectangles, 2 by 2 squares, small L, big L, and a small and a big square glued together.
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
Invite students to share their categories and record their responses for all to see. After students explain how they sorted the figures, solicit additional ways of seeing the collection until several different ways of seeing the figures have been shared.
Emphasize that the important thing is to describe the way they sorted the figures clearly enough that everyone agrees that it is a reasonable way to sort them. Tell students we will be looking at different ways of seeing the same set of objects in the next activity.
Anticipated Misconceptions
If students struggle to create their own categories, prompt them to consider a specific attribute of the figures, such as the size, color, or shape.
Standards
- 3.MD.6·Measure areas by counting unit squares (square cm, square m, square in, square ft, and improvised units).
- 3.MD.C.6·Measure areas by counting unit squares (square cm, square m, square in, square ft, and improvised units).
10 min
20 min
Knowledge Components
All skills for this lesson
No KCs tagged for this lesson
Introducing Ratios and Ratio Language
5 min
Teacher Prep
Setup
Narrative
In this Warm-up, students sort figures into categories based on the attributes that they see. The work here encourages students to describe quantities in different ways, preparing them to make sense of ratios later in the lesson.
Launch
Display the image for all to see. Give students 1 minute of quiet think time followed by 2 minutes of partner discussion.
Student Task
Think of different ways you could sort these figures. What categories could you use? How many groups would you have?
Sample Response
Sample responses:
- By area: Four groups: 2, 3, 4, and 5 square units
- By color: Four groups: blue, green, yellow, and white
- By pattern: Four groups: striped, dotted, cross-hatch, and blank
- By shape:
- Two groups: Rectangles and non-rectangles.
- Three groups: Rectangles, two different squares glued together, and L-shapes.
- Four groups: Squares, rectangles, two different squares glued together, and L-shapes.
- Seven groups: Small, medium, and large rectangles, 2 by 2 squares, small L, big L, and a small and a big square glued together.
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
Invite students to share their categories and record their responses for all to see. After students explain how they sorted the figures, solicit additional ways of seeing the collection until several different ways of seeing the figures have been shared.
Emphasize that the important thing is to describe the way they sorted the figures clearly enough that everyone agrees that it is a reasonable way to sort them. Tell students we will be looking at different ways of seeing the same set of objects in the next activity.
Anticipated Misconceptions
If students struggle to create their own categories, prompt them to consider a specific attribute of the figures, such as the size, color, or shape.
Standards
- 3.MD.6·Measure areas by counting unit squares (square cm, square m, square in, square ft, and improvised units).
- 3.MD.C.6·Measure areas by counting unit squares (square cm, square m, square in, square ft, and improvised units).