Instructor:TaylorBlair

LessonTitle:FractionsinEquations
CurriculumArea:Math

AbilityLevel:Seventhgrade
Date:18November2014
Estimatedtime:20minutes

State Standard:
13.) Write, read, and evaluate expressions in which letters stand for
numbers.
IEP Goals:
Student J and M will be able to identify the number that should be multiplied
by each fraction in order to change the problem into whole numbers.
Learning Objective: Students will be able to solve two problems using the
method taught, multiplying each fraction by the correct number with no
teacher assistance.
Evaluation of Learning Objective: When given two equations to solve,
the students will be able to complete the first step by identifying the correct
factor to multiply each fraction by with 100% accuracy.
Engagement: Teacher presents equation with fractions. Boys and girls, this
problem looks a little complicated doesnt it? Well dont worry because we
are going to learn a way to make this problem as simple as possible! What
do you think would make this problem easier? Teacher waits for students to
respond. If the fractions were whole numbers, this problem would be much
easier to solve! Well lucky for us there is a way to make these fractions into
whole numbers, lets find out how!
Learning Design Outline:
I.
TeachingLetsstartwiththisproblemontheboard!1/4x+3/10=2/5.NowIwant
youalltofollowalongbycopyingdowneachstepintoyournotebooks.Okareyou
readyforthesecretonhowtomakeeachofthesefractionsintowholenumbers?Can
anyonetakeaguessastowhatyoumightdo?Teacherwaitsforstudentstorespond.
Greatthinking!Ourfirststepisgoingtobetofindoutwhatnumberisthecommon
denominatorforeachfraction.Forthisproblemspecificallyletslookateachofthe
fractionsdenominators.Wehave4,10and5.Whocantellmewhatnumberallthree
ofthosenumberscangointo?Teacherwaitsforstudentresponseandcallson
specificstudentsifnecessary.20!Greatthinking!FortodayIwantyoualltofocus
onbeingsureyouareaccurateinfiguringoutthatnumberyouwillusetomultiply
eachfractionby!Thisfirststepissoimportant,becauseifyougetitwrongitwill
affecttherestoftheproblem.Now,letsmultiply20over1byeachofthefractions.
Howmanytimescan4gointo20?Teachercallsonindividualstudentandasksthe
restofthestudentsiftheyagree,ifnotreassessandhavestudentsexplaintheir
thinking.5times!Sonowinsteadof1/4xwehave5x.Howmanytimescan10gointo
20?Teachercallsonindividualstudentandaskstherestofthestudentsiftheyagree,
ifnotreassessandhavestudentsexplaintheirthinking.Twice!Goodthinking!And

II.

III.

IV.

thenwehavetomultiply2bywhat?Teacherwaitsforstudentresponse.Yes,the
numerator,3.Nowwehave5x+6andwecanmultiply2/5by20.Howmanytimes
can5gointo20?Teacherwaitsforstudentresponse.Good!4times!Andthenwe
cantomultiply4by2,thenumeratorandthatgivesus8!Teacherwillwalkaroundto
besureeachstudentsistakingnotesandhaswrittendowneachstep.Now,wehave
allwholenumberstoworkwithandwecansolveforX!Whocantellmewhatwe
needtodotosolveforX?Teacherwaitsforstudenttorespond.Goodweneedto
isolateXsowefirstneedtosubtract6frombothsides,whichgivesus5x=2and
thenwhatdoweneedtodotogetXbyitself?Teacherallowstimeforstudentsto
respond.Good,divideby5onbothsides.Nowwehavesolvesforx!Anditequals
what?Teacherallowsstudentstoanswer.Good!2/5!Teacherwillusesame
instructiontosolvetwoorthreemoreproblemsontheboard.
OpportunityforPracticeNowthatwehavelearnedthestepstomakingeach
fractionintoawholenumber,Iwantyoualltoworkonthenexttwoproblems.
Teacherwillwatchthestudentssolvetheproblemstakingnoteofwherethestudents
arehavingdifficultyorarestuck,andaddressthatonthewhiteboardexplainingthe
steps.
AssessmentIthinkyouallarereadytotacklesomeproblemswithoutmyhelp!
Teacherwillobserveasstudentscompleteproblems.Ifastudentisunabletofinish
theproblem,teacherwilladdresstheissueandreteachthestudent.Teacherislooking
forthegoalthatthestudentscanfigureoutwhatnumbertomultiplythefractionsby.
ClosureNow,whatisthemostimportantstepwhensolvingtheseequationswith
fractions?Besureeachstudentsayswhatthemostimportantstepis.Good,thefirst
stepisthemostimportant,findingthenumberthatyouneedtomultiplyeachnumber
by!

Resources and Materials:

- Whiteboard
- Math Book
- Section notes
- Colored Dry erase markers
Plans for Individual Learners:
- This lesson has been planned to pre-teach students the math lesson
they will learn in class that day. This provides the students with smaller
group and individual instruction to introduce the material and
familiarize themselves with the concept before learning it in the
general education classroom.
- Student M gets out of her seat frequently - she has to complete two
problems at a time before she can get out of her seat.
- Student J will begin solving a problem on his own and not wait for the
teacher, which leads to mistakes. Teacher will monitor student Js
progress as he completes each problem reminding him to follow along.
Reflection: The goal of this lesson was to focus on the first and most
important step of how to solve equations with fractions. I reinforced the

importance of finding the common denominator first, and multiplying each

fraction by that number to get whole numbers. The students seemed
overwhelmed with the second step of the equation after we changed each
fraction to a whole number, so after two problems I told the students to not
worry about solving for X, but just creating a new equation that only had
whole numbers instead of fractions. My cooperating teacher gave me
positive feedback complimenting the way I called on each student be sure
they were following and comprehending the information. I have learned
when teaching a group of students with a variety of needs, the most
important thing to do is be sure that each student is comprehending the
maximum amount of what they are able to understand, and adjust
expectations and instruction to what specific students can reasonably
achieve.
Data Analysis: When solving the assessment problems, each student was
able to identify the correct common denominator to be multiplied by each
fraction. When the students began to feel overwhelmed with the rest of the
problem, I was able to adjust the lesson and modify instruction so that the
students only had to convert the fractions to whole numbers rather than
understanding how to multiply each fraction, and solve for X. I found that
shortening the steps and focusing on one step for the lesson was much more
helpful in keeping the students attention and helped the students
confidence in their performance.