Playing Fraction War

This is a repost from 2013, transferred from my previous blog:-)

Some students finally got to play Fraction War today!

We again worked on the group problem solving that we started last week (comparing and ordering fractions), and continued with Footloose...also comparing and ordering fractions (click for description of Footloose game). Students finish Footloose at all different times, so the few that did finish today had the opportunity to play Fraction War with the fraction card decks I've made.

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Students comparing fraction cards in war.

I am loving these fraction cards! I made them during the summer, just with the idea of playing "Go Fish," but I also used them for an equivalent fraction sorting activity, and now they are great for playing "War." The kids who played today did a great job deciding which fraction was larger....I asked them to write their work on paper, so I could be sure they weren't guessing, but after a few turns, I could hear them discussing as they found common denominators and made equivalent fraction to compare, or reduced the fractions to compare. They were definitely thinking!

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Double war!

I'm finding that the use of these cards is really helping students' mental math abilities as well as the math conversations that they are having.

Only a few students got to play today, but several of them asked to play during 9th period today (homework/activity period). I'm looking forward to more students playing tomorrow, as the rest of them finish up their Footloose!

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