2.

1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area

2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
Assessment Task 1: Year 7 focus
3 big ideas
Fractions, decimals and percentages are related and can be used to express
the same number, or proportion in different ways.
Ordering fractions
Decimals are special fractions with base-ten denominators.
Big idea 1
Fractions, decimals and percentages are related and can be used to express the
same number, or proportion in different ways.
Task
Students use a laminated 10 10 grid as a model for sol!ing !arious percent
problems. Students are as"ed to represent !arious percents such as whole-number
percents, decimals and fractions by shading the grid with a whiteboard mar"er.
#his lesson is adapted from $% &onceptual 'odel for Sol!ing (ercent (roblems,$ in
Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, )ol. 1, *o. 1 +%pril 1,,-., pp. /0-/0.
Implementing the task
Students are as"ed to show what 001 loo"s li"e using a diagram, numbers and a
fraction. Students are then gi!en the 10 10 grid to represent 001 again. Once
students ha!e coloured in their boxes the teacher should pose the 2uestion, if we
have coloured in 50% of the whole, what number can we give to the whole?
1
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
Here the teacher should prompt students using statements such as can ou
convince me!, is there another wa ou can show me! etc"
Teacher# $hat decimal have ou also shown me when shading 50%? How can ou
prove to me that this shaded part is the decimal 0%5?
#he teacher should encourage students to disco!er that they ha!e shaded 0 tenths
of the ten tenths that ma"e up the grid. #his allows students to disco!er the fraction
!alue and in turn the decimal !alue also.
Teacher# &ow clean our grid and divide it into ' e(ual parts and shade one of these
parts% $hat is the percent we give to this shaded area? $hat is the fraction? $hat
about the decimal?

Teacher# ) can see that ou have shaded two whole tenths of the entire grid and 5
small s(uares% $hat would the two tenths loo* li*e as a fraction? $hat about the 5
small s(uares, the don+t ma*e up a whole tenth do the?
#he teacher should encourage a discussion about the term percent. Stating it is
simpl another name for hundredths! and percents are rational numbers where their
denominator is ,00!%
2
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
For example, /01 +twenty fi!e per cent. is the same as +twenty fi!e
hundredths.. /01 or can also be written in decimal notation as 0./0 +3ero point
two fi!e..
#his should be followed up by ha!ing students complete a table, similar to the one
below with 4friendly fractions5 li"e 0.60 and 0.00 etc.7
umber umber !raction "ecimal #ercent
fi!e 0.0 0001
$nabling
Students can be gi!en shaded grids, where they can determine the percent for a
shaded amount. For instance, students should recogni3e that the grids below
represent 11, ,1, and 681, respecti!ely. #hese could include decimals and
fractions, which can be done by shading 9ust a portion of a s2uare.

3
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
$%tension
Once the students recogni3es that 100 percent is represented by one whole s2uare
+a s2uare unit. and that one percent is represented by one small s2uare, or one-
hundredth of a unit s2uare, then 10 10 grids can be shaded to illustrate percents
less than 1 percent and greater than 100 percent.

&ationale
% number of researchers belie!e that decimals and percentages should be
introduced far earlier than many teachers typically do +'oss and &ase, 1,,,. while
others state the need to constantly re!isit the notion during the middle years of
schooling. #his acti!ity is designed to get students thin"ing about what percents
actually are and how they pair with decimals:fractions. )an De ;alle, <arp = >ay-
;illiams +/010. suggest that students 2uic"ly learn how to calculate the answers to
2uestions li"e ?@@@ is @@@percent of @@@@A through a 2uic" multiplication:di!ision
e2uation and lose the "nowledge of how we represent percentages, other than with
pie charts. #his tas" encourages students to engage in the thin"ing behind the
relationships of fractions, precents and decimals through !isual models and ma"es
student use their fractional language.
%ccording to 'oss and &ase +1,,,. students 4seem to ma"e sense5of percentages
far easier than they do with fractions and decimals, howe!er this writer argues that
by illustrating the lin" between the three, students can begin to enhance their
"nowledge. #his is also illustrated in the %ustralian &urriculum +/01/., where
4
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
students +by the end of year 6. should be able to ?connect fractions, decimals and
percentages and carry out simple con!ersionsA. Similarly, using terms such as
4friendly fractions5 gi!es students a ban" of base ten fractions that they can
constantly refer to !ia percentage, fraction or decimal form. ;ith a good tas", 2uality
teaching and hands on models, students will de!elop their ability to wor" with all
three of these areas simultaneously. #his acti!ity pro!ides opportunities for students
to explore fraction, percent and decimal ideas, whilst allowing for further
in!estigation.
;ithin this acti!ity the students are re2uired to explain their thin"ing and argue
mathematically as they collaborate to pro!ide con!incing arguments. ;ood +/00/.
belie!es that when the role of the student includes being a student explainer and
being an acti!e listener then students will engage in deep mathematical thin"ing.
Similarly, with the o!erarching theme of 4con!ince me5 during this acti!ity, students
are lead to the notion of proof, an essential element of mathematical thin"ing +Beiss,
Cein3e, Ben"l, = Dro, /008..
5
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
Beferences
%ustralian &urriculum, %ssessment and Beporting %uthority. +/01/.. Mathematics%
Betrie!ed from http7::www.australiancurriculum.edu.au:Cistory:Bationale
>ennet, %. >., = *elson, E.#. +1,,-.. % &onceptual 'odel for Sol!ing (ercent
(roblems. 'athematics #eaching in the 'iddle School 1+1., /0-/0.
'oss, F., = &ase, B. +1,,,.. De!eloping childrenGs understanding of the rational
numbers7 % new model and experimental curriculum. -ournal for .esearch in
Mathematics /ducation, 00123, 1//-1-6.
Beiss, <. '., Cein3e, %., Ben"l, %., = Dro, &. +/008.. Beasoning and proof in
geometry7 Hffects of a learning en!ironment based on heuristic wor"ed-out
examples. 45M# the )nternational -ournal on Mathematics /ducation, '0+I., -00J
-K6.
;ood, #. +/00/.. ;hat does it mean to teach mathematics differentlyL Mn >. >arton,
<. &. Mrwin, '. (fann"uch = '. #homas +Hds.., Mathematics education in the South
6acific +(roceedings of the /0th annual conference of 'HBD%,)ol. 1, pp. K1JK6.,
6
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
%uc"land. Sydney7 'HBD%. %!ailable7 http7::www.n3cer.org.n3:pdfs:>HS01K.pdf
)an De ;alle , F. %., <arp, <. S., = >ay - ;illiams , F. '. +/010.. /lementar 7
Middle school Mathematics +6th ed... >oston, NS%7 (earson Hducation, Mnc.
Big idea '
Ordering fractions
Task
Students are dealt 8 fraction cards and their tas" is to order them from smallest to
largest then record a 9ustification for the order they presented.
#his tas" is adapted from the wor" of Sexton, '., >rown, F., = Downton, %. +/010..
Implementing the task
(rior to commencing this acti!ity the teacher should re!ise what students already
"now about the form of fractions. Beminding them about the !inculum and what
names we use to refer to the top and bottom numbers. % good example, ta"en from
the wor" of Doug &lar"e and %nne Boche +/00K. is7
?Mn the fraction a8b, b is the name or si3e of the part +e.g., fifths ha!e this name
because 0 e2ual parts can fill a whole. and a is the number of parts of that name or
si3e.A
7
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
#he teacher should then record something that explains this on the board for
students to refer bac" to during the acti!ity. ;hen students are pro!ided with fraction
cards the teacher should ensure that some of the fractions included are improper
fractions and mixed numbers. Once students ha!e begun ordering their fractions the
teacher should roam and prompt students who are ha!ing difficulty completing the
tas". #hey may e!en pair them with another person or group them all together and
change to the enabling tas". Ouestions such as what fraction do ou feel most
comfortable with, let+s start there!% Other 2uestions such as ?how do you "now if this
fraction is greater than one or notLA can help students determine where to place the
fractions on their number line.
$nabling
Students will wor" in pairs to draw examples of the fractions they ha!e been dealtP
they search for ways of modelling these fractions with real life examples.
$%tending
Ca!e students form groups and order all their combined fractions on a number line.
&ationale
Besearch suggests that many students do not ha!e an understanding of the concept
of the si3e of a fraction +(ost, >ehr, Eesh, = ;achsmuth, 1,8K. and as a result this
tas" is designed to de!elop their "nowledge in this area. &lar"e and Boch +/00,.
exemplified that number lines can be ad!antageous as they help students to disco!er
that between any two distinct fractions there is an infinite number of fractions. #his
8
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
acti!ity uses this concept while students determine what order their fractions should
be placed in.
% range of manipulati!es such as fraction bars, &uisenaire rods, paper folding, lami-
nated shapes, and computer programs are often used to teach fractions. Cowe!er,
>all +1,,I. ad!ised that ?ready-made fraction materials may not enable students to
construct important conceptsA and as a result the enabling tas" for this acti!ity
re2uires students to create their own representations.
#his tas" allows teachers to identify which methods their students use to ma"e sense
of fractions while trying to order them from smallest to largest. % mathematic way of
thin"ing that we want to promote in students of the middle years is "nown as
benchmar"ing. #his is where students compare fractions by relating it to the si3e of
others such as 0, 1, Q or / as later research encourages +Sexton, >rown = Downton,
/010.. %nother strategy student5s use is "nown as residual thin"ing. #he term
residual refers to the amount that is re2uired to build up to the whole. #his concept is
often difficult for students as some often argue that 0:K and 6:8 are e2ui!alent, since
they both re2uire one $bit$ to ma"e a whole. #his is "nown as gap thin"ing, where
they are not considering ?the si3e of the denominator and therefore the si3e of the
rele!ant parts but merely the absolute difference between numerator and
denominator for the two fractionsA +Sowder, 1,88..
%s part of the number and place !alue component within the %ustralian &urriculum
+/01/. students at year 6 are expected to be able to ?compare and orderA fractions.
#his tas" allows students to demonstrate their conceptual understanding while
ha!ing to write a 9ustification as to how they determined where to place the fractions.
9
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies

Beferences
%ustralian &urriculum, %ssessment and Beporting %uthority. +/01/.. Mathematics%
Betrie!ed from http7::www.australiancurriculum.edu.au:Cistory:Bationale
&lar"e, D. '., Boche, %, 'itchell, %., = Su"eni", '. +/00K.. %ssessing student
understanding of fractions using tas"-based inter!iews. 6scholog of mathematics
/ducation% /1,3, II6-I--.
&lar"e, D. '., = Boche, %. +/00,.. Students5 fraction comparison strategies as a
window into robust understanding and possible pointers for instruction. /ducational
Studies in Mathematics, 92+1., 1/6-1I8.
Sexton, '., >rown, F., = Downton, %. +/010.. Nnderstanding fractions. 6rime
&umber, 25+-., I-6.
Sowder, F. +1,88.. 'ental computation and number comparison7 #heir roles in the
de!elopment of number sense and computational estimation. :oncepts and
10
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
;perations in the Middle <rades% +/.,, 180-18,.
Big idea 3
Decimals are special fractions with base-ten denominators.
Task 3
Hach student is gi!en two cards from a set of - pairs. #he numbers on these
cards are 0./ and 0.0/, 0.- and 0.0-, 0.K and 0.0K and 0.8 with 0.08. Nsing these
numbers students are as"ed to represent them in three ways7
1. Mllustrate where these two numbers would fall on a number line
/. Shade 10 10 grids to represent each number
I. Nse place !alue to explain your meaning
#his lesson is adapted from an assessment by 'artinie and >ay-;illiams +/00I.
Implementing the task:
11
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
% particular student is gi!en the cards 0.- and 0.0-. #o begin they are as"ed to
illustrate where these two numbers would fall on a number line. The teacher could
provide a visual e=ample on the board labeling 0 and , to get the students started.
;hile students are wor"ing, the teacher should be roaming around to pro!ide
support for students who need assistance. The teacher ma prompt them# are there
an other numbers that ou *now could be placed on this number line? :ould ou
draw these in to help ou? Once students ha!e placed both their numbers on the line
they are encouraged to as" the people on their table what their numbers were and
place these on the line also. Students are then as"ed to compare all the number
lines at their table. The teacher should encourage students to give reasons for their
placement of numbers%
Students are then gi!en two grids to represent their two numbers. #his tas" should
be left open to the students and the teacher should pro!ide little guidance. The
teacher should encourage students to write a statement under their grids as to wh
the shaded particular regions# $hat can ou write to prove to me that our answer
is correct?!
Finally, students are as"ed to use place !alue to support their answers from
2uestions 1 and /. #he teacher could use a refining strategy here to ensure they are
not simply repeating the place !alue system on the left of the decimal point and
assuming it is the same on the right of the decimal point.
$nabling
12
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
#he teacher should pro!ide explicit instruction and use supporting !isuals such as
base-ten bloc"s or linear arithmetic bloc"s to help students understand the base-ten
number system and how it is expanded to include decimal fractions. Students need
to wor" on place !alue and special fractions with dominators of 10, 100, and 1000.
%s students build numbers, they must symbolically highlight on a place-!alue chart
the place !alue of the digits. #hen they must refer bac" to their two original numbers
and be as"ed to illustrate them with the base bloc"s to compare the two numbers,
and then explain their reasoning.
$%tending
Students wor" in pairs or small groups to design and ma"e a board game that
in!ol!es the use of decimal numbers. Ca!e pupils pitch their idea to another group of
pupils or to the whole class before beginning to ma"e it. Students must explain how
this game would help teach their peers about decimals.
&ationale
#his tas" addresses multiple misconceptions that students often ha!e with decimals.
#he first misconception is that of relati!e si3e, where students often ha!e a concept
of ?longer is largerA +'artinie = >ay-;illiams, /00I. where they would incorrectly
select 0./// R 0.8 but correctly select 0.81/ R 0.I. #his misconception was
challenged in this tas" because students were forced to represent their fractions in
multiple ways. %nother misconception that students often ha!e is selecting a decimal
as the larger one when 3ero is immediately to the right of the decimal point. #he set
of - pairs all contain a decimal card that represents this to help the teacher
13
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
determine what pre concei!ed ideas these students ha!e about the notion of 3ero
within decimals. Furthermore, the third 2uestion as"s students to show their
"nowledge of the place !alue system and Fuson +1,,0. supports this as students
often ha!e an inade2uate understanding of place-!alue concepts.
#his tas" is of 2uality because as #hompson +/00/. identifies teachers can use these
representations within future lessons to force students to engage with models that
they are not completely comfortable with in order to assist their conceptual
understanding. #his tas" can also be used as a form of assessment, which allows
teachers to determine how their students are achie!ing as they wor" towards the
re2uirements of the curriculum +%ustralian &urriculum, /01/..
Furthermore, when students are shading their 10x10 grids they will begin to ha!e a
!isual representation of the decimals they are wor"ing with. #his allows them to gain
an understanding of the relati!e si3e of tenths, hundredths and thousandths and as
Suh, Fohnston, Famieson, = 'ills +/008. explain representations gi!e students the
tools to ma"e sense of, 9ustifying, communicate and ma"e connections. Eastly, the
use of 9ustifications for their decisions allows students to reflect on their mathematical
thin"ing, allowing them to disco!er how they ma"e sense of decimals.
Beferences
%ustralian &urriculum, %ssessment and Beporting %uthority. +/01/.. Mathematics%
Betrie!ed from http7::www.australiancurriculum.edu.au:Cistory:Bationale
Fuson, <. +1,,0.. &onceptual Structures for 'ultiunit *umbers7 Mmplications for
14
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
Eearning and #eaching 'ultidigit %ddition, Subtraction, and (lace )alue. :ognition
and )nstruction 91'3, I-IJ-0I.
'artinie, S. E., = >ay-;illiams, F. '. +/00I.. #ime for action7 Mn!estigating students5
conceptual understanding of decimal fractions using multiple representations.
Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, >+0., /---/-6.
Suh, F. '., Fohnston, &., Famieson, S., = 'ills, '. +/008.. (romoting number sense
and representational fluency. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, ,'+1., ---
00.
#hompson, (. +/00/.. Didactic Ob9ects and Didactic 'odels in Badical
&onstructi!ism. Smboli?ing, Modeling, and Tool @sein Mathematics /ducation.
10031, 1,1-/1/.
#as" 1
Shade 001 of your 10x10 grid.
15
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
$hat number would we give to the whole?
100
:onvince me"
M can con!ince you of this because if M count all of the s2uares there are 100 of them
and therefore M "now that the whole is 100. M then shaded 001 which is half, M "now it
is half because 00 is half of 100.
$hat decimal have ou shaded?
M ha!e shaded .0 of the grid. M can pro!e this when M separate the grid into rows of 10.
M ha!e circled each row and counted that there are ten rows. Of the 10 rows 0 of
them are shaded. #herefore, M shaded .0 or 0 tenths of the whole.
$hat is the percent we give to this shaded area? $hat is the fraction? $hat about
the decimal?
16
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
;ell M "now that M ha!e shaded two tenths of the whole, which is 100 and if M count up
how many s2uares there are in the two tenths it gi!es me /0. #hen M ha!e 0 single
s2uares, so if M add the 0 s2uares with the other /0 that gi!es me /0 s2uares. M "now
that M ha!e shaded /0 out of 100 s2uares, so that is /01, which is also /0:100 or /0
hundredths, or one fourth of the whole. #o ma"e it a decimal M chec" how many
tenths M ha!e which is /, but M also ha!e 0 other s2uares. #hose 0 other s2uares don5t
ma"e a full tenth but if M di!ide them up into smaller s2uares M "now they ma"e 0
hundredths so my decimal would be two tenths and 0 hundredths.
#hese are my friendly fractions so far7
umber umber !raction "ecimal #ercent
One half
One fourth
Q
S
0.0
0./0
001
/01
17
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
#as" /
1/1, 1/2, 3/4, 9/12, 5/8, 1/3, 4/3, 1/8
;rder > fraction cards from smallest to largest% -ustif our reasoning%
1/8 1/3 1/2 5/8 3/4 = 9/12 1/1 4/3
M started with Q because M "new that this was one half and M placed it in the middle of
my page. M then loo"ed at 1:1 and placed it to the far right of my page because M
"new this was one whole. #hen M noticed that there was an improper fraction -:I.
#his is three thirds and one extra third which means it is more than one whole. M then
too" T and ,:1/ which M "now are e2ui!alent and placed them on top of each other.
Eastly, M "new that one eighth is smaller than one third because the M only had one of
each of the parts but eighths ha!e smaller parts. >ecause of this "nowledge M
ordered my fractions in this way.
18
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organization
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge
2.5 Literacy and Numeracy strategies
#as" I
6lace 0%A and 0%0A on a number line%
19