Multiplying and Dividing Fraction

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 sometimes have to change it into a mixed number. For mixed numbers, you have to make the mixed number into a improper fraction, continue multiplying and then revert it back into a mixed number. An example of this is shown below.

Now that we have gone through multiplying fractions, we can move onto dividing fractions. This gets slightly tricky. The very first step you have to take is to flip the second fractions, aka make the divisor into its reciprocal. After that, it's just multiplying the numerators and denominators and then simplifying the answer. An example of this:

So that was a refresher on how compute these types of problems, mostly for my own benefit so that I have the skill in place to teach this to students. However, I still wanted to find a way to make this more interesting for students, instead of them memorizing the steps. So I set out to find a visual model for this. I came across a great activity that might help students view this process visually. It involves snacks and who doesn't enjoy some snacks while we're learning some math! I feel that this activity would be good to engage the students and also for them to see the problem visually and hope to you it in my future teaching classes!

Sample of the Activity: