Leverton Math Studio

Yesterday we worked on an equivalent fractions Tarsia puzzle! These are the before and after photos. My student felt a great sense of achievement when he finished building his paper pyramid.

Yesterday’s lesson on Fact Families involved toy cars and a parking lot! Not to mention a very willing participant whose ability to write his numbers vastly improved.

I’m not suggesting you should eat 1/2 of a chocolate cake (maybe just 1/4!), but I just wanted to share some real world examples of when you might use fractions:

- altering a recipe (serves 2 but you want it to serve 3 people).
- figuring out what 18% of your takeout order is so that you can tip accordingly (although this is mostly taken care of for you if you are using an Interac device). Once we can dine out again and resume using cash, this is a useful skill.
- test results are expressed in either fractional (18/20) or percentage (90%) form.
- determining whether a percentage discount is as good a deal as a flat rate discount (e.g., 40% of $70 as opposed to $30 off).
- is that “Buy 3 Get 1” deal really that good a deal? You get 25% off for buying four items, but do you really need four bottles of shower gel? If you only buy two bottles you will have spent less (and aren’t stuck with four bottles of products that you might never use).

Please message me if you have a Grade K-8 student who wants to learn more about math concepts and how they relate to real life. I offer one-to-one Zoom tutoring tailored to each student’s needs.