Fractions Divide the Class By: Lydia

Math has been very exciting for Mr. church's fifth grade class.  We just started a new unit in fractions.  Many of the students in the class remembered being introduced to fractions last year.  The first lesson was in the two parts of a fractions, the numerator and the denominator.  A fraction describes a part of a whole number.  Fractions are all the numbers that go between two whole numbers.  The diagram (to the right) shows thirteen different ways the whole number one can be divided.  There have been a few very challenging problems in the math packets this week.

Learning how to simplify fractions is something we worked with on Thursday.  If you find a number that can go into both the numerator and denominator you can simplify the smaller fraction.

We have also had the chance to work with improper fractions and mixed numbers.  An improper fractions contains a numerator that is greater than the denominator.  If numerator is larger we know that this fraction contains whole numbers.  The improper fraction can be converted into a mixed number.