Mathematical Connections
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Basic aim of this game is make students think about fractions' magnitude and comparing their magnitudes according to the benchmarks 0,1/2 and 1. This is an important step that enables students to order and compare fractions on number line easily. At 5th grade, students just learn how to order unit fractions on number line. At 6th grade, they are expected to order all types of fractions, not just units. Therefore, they need to be internalized the concept of magnitude of fractions so that they will be able to estimate all fractions according to any benchmark.
Teachers can use this game in their lessons in different ways. One of them may be beginning of this topic. Teacher may form groups and ask each group to make estimation about the proximity of the fraction on the game to the suitable benchmark. Because each group has different fraction, they need to be think about each of them. For each true answer, groups will gain one point. At the end of the game, maximum scorer group will be the winner. Teacher can ask to that group, what were their strategies to make those guesses, how did they decide etc. Additionally, teacher can ask the same questions to the lowest scorer group to understand their weaknesses about topic and estimation strategies and in this regard, he/she can develop a better instructional plan for teaching this topic by taking students' thinking about the topic into account. Since students enjoy being competitive and this game enables this kind of competitive environment, they will be more interested in learning this the topic if you start the lesson with this game.