Grade 3 Lesson on Fractions

Plan | I taught a 30-minute lesson based on this Put On Your Thinking Cap. I left Problem 1 and the Workbook Task for the next half an hour - Guided and Independent Practice. 

For this lesson, I planned to use Problem 2 as the Anchor Task. The Anchor Task was  - Here is a cake. (Students received a bar model cutout to represent the cake, cut into thirds) Nohair got 2-ninths. Spiky and Curly got the rest. How much if the cake did each of them get? Find as many ways as you can. 

Compare this version to the one in the book. What's the difference, if any? 

Differentiation for Struggling Learners - one condition was left out (Spiky got more than Curly). Also a concrete bar model was given to the students.

Differentiation for Advanced Learners - The bar model was cut into thirds so that students get to extend their solutions to cases such as 2/9 + 1/3 + 4/9. They are also encouraged to check if it is possible to include sixths or fifths.

Outcomes | 

It was suggested that students use a table to organize their responses. They were later scaffolded to realize that they work systematically.