The Bar Model is a fantastic way to compare a quantity to a percentage (which helps us also figure decimal and fraction equivalents). Have a look at the poster I made and see if your child can use this model to solve this week's homework!
The Bar Model is a fantastic way to compare a quantity to a percentage (which helps us also figure decimal and fraction equivalents). Have a look at the poster I made and see if your child can use this model to solve this week's homework!
0 Comments
Click the .pdf linked above! It's a simple explanation of the Double Number Line, which 6th graders can use to see how ratio numbers react when one number changes. Let me know if you have questions about this sweet model...or anything else!
The tape diagram is a sweet way to show ratio relationships. Students often have difficulty seeing how ratios can result in larger or smaller numbers. The image below explains one simple way of using it. This is pretty basic, but notice also that we can measure the DIFFERENCE between boys and girls. Notice that the difference is one segment of the diagram, which would also be four students. This can be very handy in questions like "there are 4 more boys than girls, so how many boys/girls are there?"
The tape diagram is a great tool for understanding ratio work! In coming posts, we'll look at other tools like the ratio table, the double number line, and the bar model. They are all great for work like this! Let me know if you have questions or comments! I'm dedicating my very first Math Blog post to that set of habits that all math students should work on and strive toward. The are called The Standards of Mathematical Practice.The Standards of Math Practice (SMP's) are outlined in greater detail here, but it boils down to this:
I plan to dedicate future posts to individual SMP's, but here's a teaser: the low-hanging fruit for most 6th graders who want to be excellent mathematicians is #6. We make mistakes because we are sloppy in our work and/or thinking. We fail to find correct answers even when we have good skills and strategies. 6th grade students must do careful, precise work. Make sure your answer is correct! |
Allen Potter |