Name:

Jenny Goersch Date: 19 October 2017

School: Boston College Grade: Junior

Lesson Overview: Dividing fractions

This lesson most clearly identifies with Common Core Curriculum Standards and MA
Framework:
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.B.3 Apply and extend previous understandings of division to divide
unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.B.7.C Solve real world problems involving division of unit fractions
by non-zero whole numbers and division of whole numbers by unit fractions, e.g., by using
visual fraction models and equations to represent the problem. For example, how much
chocolate will each person get if 3 people share lb of chocolate equally? How many 1/3-cup
servings are in 2 cups of raisins?
MA Framework 6. NS A. Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and
division to divide fractions by fractions

Instructional Objective: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to solve practical
problems by dividing fractions. The students will be able to cut a recipe down by a third.
Students will also recognize that they can turn a fraction division problem into a multiplication
problem by multiplying the first term by the reciprocal of the second term.

Content: Students will need to use prior knowledge of basic multiplication and division facts,
finding the reciprocal of a fraction, and turn a mixed fraction into an improper fraction.
Students will also need to interpret a fraction as division of the numerator by the denominator
(a/b = a b).

Procedures for the Lesson:
Introduction: Hand out list of ingredients for chocolate chip cookies (attached to this lesson
plan) and tell students that you would like them to try to cut the recipe ingredients in half. Have
each student attempt to reduce the first ingredient on the recipe, cup of unsalted butter, by
half. Then once they have finished, convene back together having them to share their answers
with the class. I will ask the students to explain the different methods they used to come up
with their answers.

Instruction and Application: Now I will explain how to divide fractions. I will explain to students
that the problem 4 is asking you: How many halves are in 4? The answer is 8 because each
unit (1) is made up of two halves, and there are 4 units in total, so 2 halves for every one unit
! #$%&'(
times 4 units = 8 halves ( X 4 units = 8 halves). I will write this problem on the board to
) *+,-
work as a visual aid for students too. Then I will apply this same equation to the idea of cups of
water: How many half cups of water are in 4 cups of water? You could poor 2 half cups of water
into each cup of water which means you are essentially adding them, and you have four cups:
! #$%&'( ! #$%&'( ! #$%&'( ! #$%&'(
+ + + = 8 halves. For this question I will have drawn eight half
) .*/ ) .*/ ) .*/ ) .*/
cups of water on the board, so that students can connect what I am saying to a visual aid. I will
then add that as we have just seen, when the fraction youre dividing by is between 1 and 0, the
answer will always be larger than the original number. Therefore, we can figure out how to
divide by a fraction by multiplying by its reciprocal. As we have learned, the reciprocal of a
fraction is simply the fraction turned upside down, so the numerator and denominator have
0 !
switched places. For example, the reciprocal of is (I will write this on the board). To divide
! 0
by a fraction, the steps we must follow are
1. Leave the first fraction in the equation alone, unless it is a whole number with fraction,
then make it a mixed number by multiplying the whole number by the denominator and
)
adding the numerator. The answer to this equation will be the new numerator. 2
1

((2 x 4) + 1) = 9,


2. Turn the division sign into a multiplication sign x


3. Flip the second fraction over (finding its reciprocal) x

4. Multiply the numerators (top numbers) of the two fractions together. This result will be

the top portion, or numerator, of your answer x

5. Multiply the bottom numbers, or denominators, of the two fractions together. The

result of this will be the denominator of your answer =

)8 ! : )
Simplify your fraction by reducing it to the simplest terms = 4
1 ! ! !
As I say these steps, I will point to each step on the board, written out as an example. An
example of each of these steps has been put next to the equation.

)
I will then write the problem on the board and ask the students to solve it. Once I have
0
)
allotted enough time for students to solve this problem, I will work through this problem, ,
0
on the board
) ! )
becomes x _______ =
0 < 0
! < ) <
Now we flip the second fraction becomes so we that the equation is now x =
< ! 0 !
) < <
Now we multiply the numerators of the two fractions, 1 x 5 = 5, x =
0 !
) < <
Then we multiply the denominators of the two fractions, 3 x 2 = 6 so we have x = . Because
0 ! =
this fraction cant be simplified any further, we have our answer!

Assessment: I will have students revisit chocolate chip cookie recipe that I handed out in the
beginning of the class. Their task is to cut the recipe down by a third. When they finish cutting
each ingredient down by a third, I will collect recipe (with their work attached) and grade it.

Materials: There are 23 students in the class, so I will print out 25 copies of the chocolate chip
cookie recipe. I will also come prepared with 25 piece of scrap paper, so that if students dont
have math notebooks to do problem in they will have something to write on. I will also need a
white board to write on and Expo markers to write with.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
cup unsalted butter
cup packed dark brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
12 ounces of semisweet chocolate chunks
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/3 teaspoons of baking soda
teaspoon fine salt