A couple of months ago, my team and I ran a Desmos workshop for elementary teachers.   Two activities were highlighted.  The first was an individually paced challenge AB (activity builder).  The second activity shared can be run as a whole class discussion.  Both activities were tested in a 6th grade math intervention class.

1. Self paced challenge:  What Fraction Am I?
2. Whole Class Activity: Ordering Fractions on a Number Line.

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Lesson Guide for Ordering Fractions on a Number Line

Slide 1:  This is a partner activity. One person uses the fraction model on slide 2 to compare fractions.  The other student estimates the placement of the given fractions on slide 3.  The students switch roles for each challenge.

Slide 2:  Comparing Fractions.  Click and drag on the blue point in the lower left hand side to move the fraction.

Slide 3:  Ordering Fractions

Once you give students time to work together and decide on where to place their fractions,

• Pause the activity
  • You don’t want students to change their answer once they see the class overlay
• Click on the Overlay
  • The Overlay reveals the collective answers of the class, therefore highlighting misconceptions and areas of need.
  • Discuss the results as needed.

• Promote self reflection by un-pausing the activity and giving students a brief period of time to adjust their answers.  Then pause, show the overlay again and ask if anyone would like to share if they moved a fraction and why.

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Revealing the Answer

Slides 3 – 10:  There are 7 Number Lines altogether.  Each number line has a code to reveal the correct placement of the given fractions.  For Number Line 1, the code is n = 1.  Instruct students to enter n = 1 in row 1 on the left hand side.  The correct placement of the fractions shows up under the number line in red.

You could also instruct student to enter the code while the overlay is displayed.

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The Reveal Codes

The 7 reveal codes are listed below.  They are located within the teacher tips for each slide.

• Slide 1:  n = 1
• Slide 2:  n = 2
• Slide 3:  n = 3
• Slide 4:  n = 4
• Slide 5:  m = 1
• Slide 6:  m = 2
• Slide 7:  m = 3

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Checking Student Progress Using The Teacher Dashboard

The Teacher Dashboard holds a lot of valuable information beyond the class overlay.  In the picture below, the students are listed in alphabetical order.  You can click on any of these thumbnails to see a student’s individual work.

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A couple of class overlays:

Slide 5:

Slide 6:

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Sneak Peak into What Fraction Am I?

*************************************************************************Other fraction related posts:

• Comparing Fractions w/ Desmos
• Progressions: Fraction Fact Families
• Why Do We Invert & Multiply? An Explanation