Fractions Adding and Subtracting Fractions with unlike Denominators

Brooke Kofflin

Melanie Dever

Baker College of Jackson

Unit: Number and Operations Lesson Title: Fractions Grade/Period: 5th Grade

CCSS or State Standards:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.A.1
Add and subtract fractions with
unlike denominators (including
mixed numbers) by replacing given
fractions with equivalent fractions in
such a way as to produce an
equivalent sum or difference of
fractions with like denominators. For
example, 2/3 + 5/4 = 8/12 + 15/12 =
23/12. (In general, a/b + c/d = (ad +
bc)/bd.)

Resources and Materials:

Interactive Math Notebook Commented [DM1]: Is this a paper and pencil notebook
Calculator (not always needed) or an app?
Colored Pencils
Tablet Fraction App
Smart Board Guided Activity
Worksheet
Blocks if needed
(some are attached on the back)

Objective: I can: add and subtract fractions that have unlike denominators.
What students will know and be able to do stated
in student friendly language (use Blooms and DOK
levels for higher level thinking objectives)

Essential Question(s): How do you add fractions with unlike denominators?

Over-arching questions of the lesson that will
indicate student understanding of concepts/skills
What is it you want the students to learn/know? How do you subtract fractions with unlike denominators?
Why?

How do you pick out the important parts of a fraction story problem?

Essential Word(s): Fraction a numerical quantity that is not a whole number.

Unlike Denominator two fractions where denominators are not

identical or similar.

Inclusion Activity: Students will watch the video Fruit Fractions Episode 3 -- Adding and
Describe an activity that will ensure that all subtracting with unlike denominators.
students and their voices are included at the
beginning of the lesson. Commented [DM2]: You might try having students talk in
During the video, the student will answer two questions to make sure pairs after watching the video before offering up answers to
they are paying attention. After the video, we will discuss as a class. the question. One goal of the inclusion activity is to get all
LINK TO VIDEO: the voices in the room. The goal should be more than just
making sure they are paying attention, but helping them to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXTn5aFRtSQ actually think about what they see. Having them dialogue
about a question you provide can do that.
Sequence of Activities:
Provide an overview of the flow of the lesson. Students will have their choice of playing Fractions on the iPad an
Should also include estimates of pacing/timing.
app that allows students to practice their fractions. Commented [DM3]: Have they already learned the how
and why of adding with unlike denominators? If youre
talking here about the Brainingcamp fractions App, Id
If students would rather they could use the smart board and practice suggest you have something to guide them through which
with an activity I have created. activities you want them to do, and points where they record
(maybe in their math notebook) what they are doing.
*Students may have a calculator to see what the fraction would look Commented [DM4]: Good example of differentiation that
like as a fraction. you offer one independent online activity and one teacher
guided/small group activitiy!

The goal of this is a warm-up with their fractions. Commented [DM5]: Whats the goal of giving them
calculators at this point? Unless there is a specific reason to
give them these, Id suggest holding off at first. Kids will
This would go on for about 20 minutes. often reach for the calculator as a way to avoid dealing with
fractions, which causes a lot of problems later in their math
careers.
Students will then all complete a worksheet of adding and subtracting
fractions. The worksheet will consist of 6 problems 3 addition, 3 Commented [DM6]: What is the goal of this 20 minute
section? What do you want kids to be able to do at the end of
subtraction. the 20 minutes that they couldnt do at the start? Its hard for
me to give feedback on the appropriateness of activities
This may take the rest of the math time we have for the day. without knowing that the goal of this part is.
Commented [DM7]: Consider adding in something about
Roughly 20 minutes. how they will know if they are getting each problem right. If
they do 3 problems all wrong, but dont know it, theyve just
built bad habits. Options include posting answers around the
The following day students would get out their interactive math room for kids to get up and check after each problem,
notebooks and complete the page titled adding fractions with unlike providing one student in each group a key to use after they
finish each problem, or having them check in with you as
denominators and the page titled subtracting fractions with unlike they finish each problem.
denominators. In this they are drawing their fractions as well as
Commented [DM8]: I think that 25 minutes for 6 math
writing them. problems with no additional structure is too long. Some kids
will finish much faster, and you need something for them to
Roughly 35 minutes. move on to. Others will be unsure how to do these 6
problems, and you need something to help them out.

After this, students will take a 10 question quiztheir answers will be

submitted through google forms. This will allow the teacher to track Commented [DM9]: This is a good place to include
all of the answers right away. technology for the fast feedback.

Roughly 30 minutes. Commented [DM10]: If I read this right, youve got 65

minutes to complete 2 pages in their notebook, and take a 10
question quiz. This seems like an awfully long stretch for
The following day, students will share what they wrote in their this type of work! Also consider how kids will learn from
interactive notebook in groups of five. One person in the group must their mistakes on the math notebook pages before taking the
record the presentation on an iPad. All students must be recorded. quiz.
This is just a brief explanation of what they wrote in their notebooks Commented [DM11]: Can you clarify what you want
and why they wrote it in their notebooks. them to present? It looked from the lesson plan like they
were doing some problems in their notebooks. Do you want
them to present how they did the problem? How does the
Roughly 40 minutes. iPad fit in here? in other words, how is using the iPad better
than having the kids stand up and present what they did?
Journal on experience.

Roughly 10 minutes.
Instructional Strategies:
Research-based strategies to help students think
critically about the concept/skill
 According to Marzanos Instructional Strategies Nonlinguistic
Representation and Cooperative Learning will be used throughout this
lesson.

Assessment: Formative:
List both formative and summative assessments
that you will use to assess student understanding.
Formative assessments are given during 6 Problem Fraction Worksheet
instruction (check for understanding), summative Interactive Math Notebook
are after completion of instruction (how will you
grade quiz, test, project, paper, presentation,
demonstration, etc.). From this formative assessment, I will be able to see students
work in worksheet form and project form. I will have a good idea
of what students know and what they would need more practice
on before the summative assessment.

Summative:

10 Question Quiz Attached to the back.

Answers are placed on google form. Will be sent to all students.

Video on Interactive Notebook

LINK:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ra60f0ySbjVj6FLN6c2cJJRBP7
yO4kdBgGoCUHPWwIA/viewform

This is the final assessment before the unit test which will be held in
roughly a week depending on how students have been doing and what
we may need to cover more on.

Differentiation: Students may use pictures or tools to add and subtract fractions.
Describe who will need additional or different Example: Blocks 5/6 one color and 1/6 an opposite color. The other
support during this lesson, and how you will
support them. Differentiated instruction could fraction 3/4 one color and 1/4 an opposite color. Students must 5/6
include testing accommodations, preferential and 3/4 together. The blocks can allow them to align them together to
seating, segmented assignments, a copy of the
teachers notes, assignment notebook, peer tutors, make sure their denominator is correct. Commented [DM12]: This is a very good way of
etc. differentiating. How would you deal with a kid who used the
blocks, but still could not make like denominators? And you
Students may have their worksheets/problems read aloud to them. should note above in the sequence of activities where kids
would have access to the block.
Students may work in small groups 2 to 3 per group. Commented [DM13]: Another way you could easily
differentiate this lesson is to have a few different worksheets
Students may also watch the lesson on demand that goes along with available. The lower level ones might start with a few
equivalent fraction problems, then move into adding. The
this lesson. higher level ones might include more difficult common
denominators, or fractions that add to something greater than
Summary, Integration and Students will share their interactive math notebook pages with the 1.
Reflection: class. They will be broken into groups to share and record what they
List the way that you will bring students together wrote down in their books. All students should be proud of what they
to integrate and reflect on their learning from this
lesson wrote and should have written different things.
Initial plans could also contain the following:

Accessing Prior Knowledge: What data do you have about what the students already know? What do
they need to know before they can learn this new information? What do the students know about this
topic prior to instruction? How will you engage the students, given what they already know about the
subject?

Students should already know what a fraction is and how to add and subtract fractions with like
denominators. They should also have a good understanding of least common multiple. Commented [DM14]: Should they also already know
about equivalent fractions, or is that something youll be
working into the lesson?
Anticipatory Set: What will you do to grab the students attention at the start of the lesson?

Students will watch the video Fruit Fractions Episode 3 -- Adding and subtracting with unlike
denominators to grab their attention.

Wrap-up Activity and Closure: How will you bring your lesson to an end and tie it to previously learned
material? This is the summary at the end of the lesson. What did they learn?

Students will end the lesson by sharing what they wrote in their interactive math notebook to their
groups. Commented [DM15]: This share out is a good idea. It
works best when the students have different ways to do the
same problem represented in their notebook. For example, if
After we are all back together, I will ask students how to compares the lesson before (adding and the problem was to add and 1/3, it would be great if some
subtracting fractions with like denominators). As a group, we will answer five different questions kids used fraction bars, and some used shaded circles, and
adding and subtracting fractions (may contain like and or unlike denominators). others did it using LCM. Then you could facilitate a
discussion of how those different ideas go together.

Students will write in a journal at the end of each lesson expressing their feelings towards the lesson and
what they have learned.

Homework/ Independent Practice: Based on what they learned in class, what could they do on their
own to practice the skill they learned today? Examples include practice problems, an investigation, a
game, or any other activity to apply what they just learned.

Students can have their parents cut something into 3/6 and something else into 3/9. Then add them
together writing down their steps to solve the problem. Commented [DM16]: The kids who have parents willing
and able to do this would definitely benefit from it. Consider
offering up an alternative homework for kids whose parents
They may bring back to the class and share. cant or wont help with homework.

Adaptations: List alternative plans you will make during your lesson as you consider student strengths,
challenges, and possible misunderstandings.

More challenging fractions.

Simpler fractions
Help with Least Common Multiple.

Remediation: What else can you do/have prepared to do with the students who did not understand the
information you presented?

Work with those students who did poorly on the quiz individually. As a teacher, it is important to see Commented [DM17]: The earlier you get the info on
where your students struggle. which kids dont get it, the better!
They may create their own adding and subtracting fractions worksheet must include an answer key. Commented [DM18]: Check out the National Library of
Virtual Manipulatives. (Google it). Its an online collection
of math manipulatives that are really great. If you realize a
They may also check out the interactive powerpoint that goes along with this lesson. student is having trouble with equivalent fractions, there are
a lot of tool in there that can help.
Enrichment: What else can you do/ have prepared for the student who totally understood what you
taught and needs to take it a step further and extend the information taught?

Students may use the link below to play the game comparing fractions.

LINKS:

https://www.splashmath.com/math-skills/fifth-grade/fractions/add-fractions?replace_all=1

https://www.splashmath.com/math-skills/fifth-grade/fractions/subtract-fractions--2

Changes to Future Lessons: Use your imagination- what do you think might be places in this lesson you
might want to change/ improve/ expand on in the future?

Instead of having students doing a worksheet to show their learning of adding and subtracting fractions
with unlike denominators actually have manipulatives for them to see the difference in fractions. This
could be added in or used as a replacement.
Fractions Adding and Subtracting Fractions with unlike Denominators:
WORKSHEET

NAME:_________________________________________________ DATE:________________________

1. + = 4. =

2. + = 5. =

3. + = 6. =

Fractions Adding and Subtracting Fractions with unlike Denominators:
Video Questions

Name:________________________________________________ Date:______________________________

1 4
1. During the video what do they multiply by and to make them have
6 5

common denominators? Please EXPLAIN your answers. One-word

answers will not receive credit.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________
2 2
2. During the video what do they multiply by and to make them have
3 5
common denominators? Please EXPLAIN your answers. One-word
answers will not receive credit.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________
 Fractions Adding and Subtracting Fractions with unlike
Denominators: QUIZ

NAME:_________________________________ DATE:___________________

1. + = 10. =

2. + =

3. + =

4. + =

5. + =

6. =

7. =

8. =

9. =

Fractions Adding and Subtracting Fractions with unlike Denominators:
WORKSHEET

NAME: ANSWER KEY DATE:________________________

1. + = 4. =

2. + =
5. =

3. + = 6. =

Fractions Adding and Subtracting Fractions with unlike Denominators:
Video Questions

Name: ANSWER KEY Date:______________________________

1 4
1. During the video what do they multiply by and to make them have
6 5

common denominators? Please EXPLAIN your answers. One-word

answers will not receive credit.

They multiply 1/6 by 5 top and bottom to get 5/30. They multiply 4/5 by

6 top and bottom to get 24/30.

2 2
During the video what do they multiply by and to make them have
3 5

common denominators? Please EXPLAIN your answers. One-word

answers will not receive credit.

They multiply 2/3 by 5 top and bottom to get 10/15. They multiple 2/5

by 3 top and bottom to get 6/15.

 Fractions Adding and Subtracting Fractions with unlike
Denominators: QUIZ

NAME:_________________________________ DATE:___________________

1. + = 10. =

2. + =

3. + =

4. + =

5. + =

6. =

7. =0

8. =

9. =