Samra Hussain - My Personal Learning Path

    I have finally moved on from fractions and feel that I have a really good grasp on the subject. I definitely feel more comfortable being able to explain fractions to students now. This week, I have turned my attention to geometry. I've always had a hard time with this subject. Instead of diving right into geometry problems, I went to an intro into the subject. The subject of geometry begins in 3rd grade and it starts with an introduction about  the concept of area and how that just means how much a shape covers a particular space.    I again used the website Khan Academy because they really simplify the subject and provide helpful problem sets at the end of each lesson. I noticed that the math problems presented in this intro were done on graph paper. This was helpful to visually see how much space the shape covers. There was no abstract shape with formulas that needed to be memorized, at least not at this particular level. A unit would be given and from th...

   This week, I'm back again in the realm of fractions. I really wanted to get a good handle on fractions before moving on to another topic. So, this week we're learning about multiplying and dividing fractions. While adding and subtracting fractions can be pretty simple, especially with the visual add of a fraction kit, multiplying and dividing fractions can seem daunting to students, as was the case when I was in school. I found a website that really simplified the problem.    First, I started with regular multiplying fractions. The basic steps are to: multiply the numbers in the numerator togged to get the product for the numerator and then multiply the numbers in the denominator to get the numbers in the denominator. The final step is to simply the answer. An example of this is:    Now there are problems that involve mixed fractions and improper fractions. To compute improper fractions, if the numerator is greater than the denominator, you sometime...

Building upon last week's concept about what factions look like conceptually, this week I decided to visit the topic of adding and subtracting fractions that have different denominators. Although I somewhat remembered how to do it, the website Khan Academy really gave me a good refresher. The key word for these types of equations was finding the "Least Common Denominator" (LCM). After the quick video lesson, I was able to get through the problems with no issue! Work: 3/5 + 1/2=? LCM is 10 so the equation becomes 6/10 + 5/10= 11/10  Work: 2/8 + 5/12 = ? LCM is 24 so the equation becomes 6/24 + 10/24 = 16/24 but don't forget to reduce! so it becomes 2/3  Work: 3/4 - 6/12 = ? LCM is 12 so the equation becomes 9/12 - 6/12 = 3/12 = 1/4 Work: 8/6 - 5/4 = ? LCM is 12 so the equation becomes 16/12 - 15/12 = 1/12 The link to the website is:  https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic/fraction-arithmetic/arith-review-add-sub-fractions/v/adding-small-f...

  I wanted to begin my personal learning path with the concept of fractions. Fractions definitely gave me a hard time in school. One thing that I realized is that I had difficulty with fractions because I didn't understand it conceptually. I was just trying to memorize the facts. So I am beginning this blog by first introducing fractions using a conceptual model. I found a great video and lesson plan online  that really helped me visually to see what fractions were. The idea is called a fraction kit. This activity is great because it gives students a hands-on approach to the concept of fractions, instead of just a lecture from a teacher. There is also an accompanying lesson plan, which incorporated using the fraction kit to help with the problems. The fraction kit really helped me understand the problems in the lesson plan better.  http://mashupmath.com/blog/2017/9/13/heres-an-awesome-way-to-teach-kids-fractions