Fractions on a number line!

 As we all know, fractions, even in their simplest form, are difficult to understand. There are a lot of components that go into understanding fractions. Recently, my class has started to compare inequivalent fractions on a number line. My co-tecaher and I have tried showing it on 2 number lines on on top of the other since the students had a difficult time figuring out how to partition one number line 2 different ways. It was apparent that the students were still not comprehending what to do and how to do it so we had to try another way. Today we took a lot of time using colored pencils to help the students try and visualize how to partition one number line 2 ways with 2 different colors. Although this seemed to help some more students grasp the idea, I still feel that more practice needs to be done. We always take the time to annotate the directions and objectives in a way that supports the students learning. Below is an image of the worksheet we worked on today and how the colored pencils were used to partition the number line. I would appreciate if anyone had any other suggestions as to how to get the students to become comfortable with partitioning a number line in more than one way. 

After doing some research,  I found an activity that can be used to scaffold this concept in a fun way.

 Allowing for the students to use manipulatives that are relevant to them may help them to understand the concept and visualize it in a different way. This activity will allow students to compare fractions of different groupings through the use of skittles that will also provide a treat at the end of the lesson. 

standards: 3. NF. 2a, 3. NF. 2b, 3. NF. 3c, 3. NF. 3d