Division of a Fraction by a Whole Number and a Whole Number by a Fraction Models

Today we focused on dividing unit fractions by a whole number using models:

For the first problem, we drew a rectangle (one whole) and showed it broken into fourths.  Then we took each fourth and divided them into three pieces.  Since we wanted to know how much a person would have from the WHOLE, the answer was 1/12.

For the second problem, we drew a rectangle (one whole) and showed it broken into halves.  Then we took each half and divided it into 6 more pieces.  The answer is 1/12.

For this type of problem, you begin by making 7 rectangles (our wholes) and then divide each one into 3 sections.  The question is typically "how many sections".  This leads to the answer 21.

As this is my week for Social Studies, we stopped early to continue our study of the Causes of the Civil War.

Students do have homework.  They are to complete a Countdown to STAAR tonight.