Overview:
A balloon is placed on a number line from 0
to 1. Students will try to pop it by trying to guess
where the balloon rests and throwing a dart at that
point. The higher the difficulty setting, the more
accurate the guesses will need to be in order to pop
the balloon. This is a great activity for reviewing
the concept of fractions and how to compare one
fraction with another.
NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards:
- 4.1.A
- Number Sense
- 4.1.C
- Estimation
Lesson Plan 1
Classroom Environment:
- One laptop or desktop computer and a projector
Materials:
- Internet
connection
- Macromedia
Flash Player, Version 7 or higher
(Click here to check
if it installed. If you come back to this
page, you are ok.)
- Some sort of prize for a group of students
(optional)
Procedure:
A.
Setting the Stage
Review the concept of fractions.
Pose these questions:
- What happens to the size of a fraction if
you keep the denominator constant and increase
the numerator? Decrease the numerator?
- What happens to the size of a fraction if
you keep the numerator constant and increase
the denominator? Decrease the denominator?
B. Activity
- Divide the class into several groups of
three to five students.
- Assign a name to each group, or let the
students pick their own group names. On a
sheet of paper, blackboard, or whiteboard,
write down each group's name on a separate
row. This is for keeping score.
- Start up the free play version of Fraction
Darts, located here,
on the projector. Initially, select the level
of the game to be 1, with 10 darts, and the
scale on.
- You will be going to each group one at a
time, so you will need to determine the
rotation order.
- Starting with the first group, ask them to
guess where to throw a dart in order to pop
the balloon. When they have agreed, have one
person in the group announce what their
fraction is, enter it into the game, and throw
the dart. If it hits, give that group a point,
start a new game, and go on to the next group.
If it misses, simply go on to the next group
without starting a new game. This way, they
have a bit of extra information.
- If the next group hits, they get a point.
But if they miss, then just move on to the
next group without restarting. Each group will
get more of an advantage until the balloon is
popped.
- Once all groups have made a guess, start a
new game, regardless of whether or not the
balloon has been popped. At this point, you
may increase the difficulty or turn off the
scale, and that setting should remain in
effect until every group has had another turn.
- Proceed in this fashion until you decide it
is time to stop the game.
- Check the scores and congratulate the
winning team. If you have a prize, let 'em
have it!
C. Debrief
Ask the winning team why they did so well and
what strategies they used. Discuss any
strategies of your own as well.
Assessment:
Hand out the worksheet provided above. It has
seven problems, each depicting a game in progress.
From the previous throws, students must try to
figure out what the next throw should be. They
must also explain their reasoning, thus providing
a language component to the assessment. The
worksheet may be collected and graded, or you may
actually play the games shown so that students can
see if their reasoning was correct. The game is
provided on the activity page, but you may also
get to it from here.
Lesson Plan 2
Classroom Environment:
- Enough laptops or desktop computers to have
stations of one to four students each
Materials:
- Internet
connection
- Maromedia
Flash Player, Version 7 or higher
- Score Sheets (See top left of page)
Procedure:
A.
Setting the Stage
Review the concept of fractions.
Pose these questions:
- What happens to the size of a fraction if
you keep the denominator constant and increase
the numerator? Decrease the numerator?
- What happens to the size of a fraction if
you keep the numerator constant and increase
the denominator? Decrease the denominator?
B. Activity
- Divide the class into several groups of one
to four students and have each group sit at a
laptop or desktop.
- Give each student several score sheets,
depending on how many games you want or have
time for them to play.
- Direct students to the Activity page - http://www.ciese.org/math/activities/fractiondarts/activity.html
There, they will find a listing of several
ways to play the game. It will look like this:
However, they will not have links to answer
keys! For assessment purposes, it would be a
good idea to have them do any or all of
Lessons 1, 2, and 3. In these games, the
balloon is not placed randomly on the scale,
and you have answer keys to these games. Thus,
students could turn in the score sheets to
these games for grading.
- Allow the students to play the games and
keep score. Walk around the room and
help/question as necessary.
C. Debrief
Ask students or groups with high scores to
share why they did so well and what strategies
they used. Discuss any strategies of your own as
well.
Assessment:
Students may hand in their score sheets for
grading. Also, you may out the worksheet provided
above. It has seven problems, each depicting a
game in progress. From the previous throws,
students must try to figure out what the next
throw should be. They must also explain their
reasoning, thus providing a language component to
the assessment. The worksheet may be collected and
graded, or you may actually play the games shown
so that students can see if their reasoning was
correct. The game is provided on the activity
page, but you may also get to it from here.
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