Lesson 18

Hagamos diseños con fracciones (optional)

Warm-up: Observa y pregúntate: Entre 0 y 1 (10 minutes)

Narrative

The purpose of this warm-up is to elicit observations about partitions in number lines of different scales. In subsequent design activities, students will partition the sides of squares and other shapes into unit fractions. That process will be iterative, with the length being partitioned changing each time. The work here familiarizes students with the reasoning they will encounter later in the lesson.

Launch

  • Groups of 2
  • Display the image.
  • “¿Qué observan? ¿Qué se preguntan?” // “What do you notice? What do you wonder?”
  • 1 minute: quiet think time

Activity

  • “Discutan con su compañero lo que pensaron” // “Discuss your thinking with your partner.”
  • 1 minute: partner discussion
  • Share and record responses. 

Student Facing

¿Qué observas? ¿Qué te preguntas?

4 number lines of varying lengths. 3 from 0 to 1 with a tick mark between. 1 with no tick mark between 0 and 1.

Student Response

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Activity Synthesis

  • “En qué se parecen todas las rectas numéricas?” // “How are all the number lines alike?” (They all go from 0 to 1. They have the labels 0 and 1.)
  • “¿En qué son diferentes?” // “How are they different?” (They have different lengths.)
  • “¿Cómo partirían la última recta numérica para que coincida con las demás?” // “How would you partition the last number line to match the rest?” (Mark the halfway point between 0 and 1.)
  • “Supongamos que quisiéramos que todas las rectas numéricas estuvieran partidas en cuartos. ¿Cómo lo harían?” //  “Suppose we’d like all the number lines to be partitioned into fourths. How would you go about doing so?” (Find the halfway point between 0 and \(\frac{1}{2}\) and between \(\frac{1}{2}\) and 1.)

Activity 1: Hagamos diseños con $\frac{1}{2}$ (15 minutes)

Narrative

The purpose of this activity is for students to create a design using the fraction \(\frac{1}{2}\) as a constraint for length. Students partition each side of a given square into halves and mark a length of \(\frac{1}{2}\) on each side. They connect those midpoints to form another shape, partition the sides into halves again, and repeat the process to make increasingly smaller shapes. Students notice that the resulting shapes are also squares, and the squares in the pattern alternate between having vertical and horizontal sides and diagonal sides.

MLR2 Collect and Display. Circulate, listen for and collect the language students use as they work in groups. On a visible display, record words and phrases such as: middle, midpoint, point, endpoint, connect, mark, cut, partition, side length. Invite students to borrow language from the display as needed, and update it throughout the lesson.
Advances: Conversing, Representing
Representation: Access for Perception. Provide appropriate reading accommodations and supports to ensure student access to written directions, word problems, and other text-based content.
Supports accessibility for: Language, Social-Emotional Functioning

Required Materials

Materials to Gather

Launch

  • Groups of 2
  • “Usemos la fracción \(\frac{1}{2}\) para crear un diseño” // “Let’s create a design using the fraction \(\frac{1}{2}\).”
  • “Tómense un minuto para leer el enunciado de la actividad. Después, hablen con su compañero sobre lo que se les pide que hagan” // “Take a minute to read the activity statement. Then, turn and talk to your partner about what you are asked to do.”
  • 1 minute: quiet think time
  • 1 minute: partner discussion
  • Give each student a ruler or a straightedge.
  • Provide access to extra paper, in case requested.

Activity

  • “Completen la actividad con su compañero. Usen una regla cuando dibujen las líneas para unir los puntos” //  “Work with your partner to complete the activity. Use a straightedge when you draw lines to connect points.”
  • 10 minutes: partner work time
  • Monitor for different strategies and tools students use to partition the sides of the squares, such as:
    • estimating or “eyeballing” the midpoint
    • folding opposite sides of each square in half
    • copying the side length of each square onto another paper, folding it in half, and using it to mark the midpoint of all four sides
    • using a ruler to measure

Student Facing

  1. Este es un cuadrado. En cada lado, marca un punto que muestre \(\frac{1}{2}\) de la longitud del lado.
    Diagram. A square.

    Une cada punto con los puntos de los dos lados que están junto a este. ¿Qué figura hiciste?

  2. Mira la nueva figura que hiciste. En cada lado de esa nueva figura, marca un punto que muestre \(\frac{1}{2}\) de la longitud del lado. Une los puntos de nuevo, ¿Qué figura hiciste?

  3. Repite los pasos que acabaste de hacer al menos dos veces más. Haz algunas observaciones sobre el diseño que acabaste de crear.

Student Response

Teachers with a valid work email address can click here to register or sign in for free access to Student Response.

Activity Synthesis

  • Select previously identified students to share their strategies for partitioning the sides of each shape into halves. Ask them to demonstrate their methods as needed.
  • “¿Cómo supieron cuál extremo usar como 0 o como punto de partida para marcar \(\frac{1}{2}\) de la longitud?” // “How did you know which endpoint to use as 0 or as a starting point to mark \(\frac{1}{2}\) of the length?” (It doesn’t matter. Starting from either end gives the same point.)
  • Display one or more completed drawings (showing different numbers of iterations).
  • “¿Por qué creen que todos terminamos con el mismo diseño?” // “Why do you think we all ended up with the same design?” (Each time we marked the same set of points—the middle point of each side.)
  • “En la siguiente actividad, vamos a hacer un diseño con otra fracción” // “In the next activity, we’ll creating a design with a different fraction.”

Activity 2: Hagamos diseños con $\frac{1}{4}$ (25 minutes)

Narrative

The purpose of this activity is for students to create a design using the fraction \(\frac{1}{4}\) as a constraint for length. The fraction \(\frac{1}{4}\) expands the number of possible designs that could be generated.

When the fractional length to be marked on the sides of a square was \(\frac{1}{2}\), students could use either end of a side as a starting point and would mark the same point. The shape that resulted from connecting the midpoints was always a square.

When the fractional length to be marked is \(\frac{1}{4}\), the location of the point changes depending on the starting point. Consequently, the shapes that result from connecting the points may be a square, another type of quadrilateral, or may vary each time. The shapes in turn determine how many iterations can be done. (For example, if the resulting shapes are narrow parallelograms, students may only be able to do 2 or 3 rounds before further partitioning becomes unfeasible.)

If time permits, encourage students color or decorate their drawings. Some students may also enjoy the challenge of creating another design using new constraints, such as:

  • starting with a square of a different size or with another shape
  • using another unit fraction or a non-unit fraction to mark the length of each side
  • using a different unit fraction for each iteration

Students can observe regularity in repeated reasoning (MP8) in many different ways as the new shapes they make are often smaller versions of the previous shape, but this depends heavily on how they decide to mark off \(\frac{1}{4}\) of each side.

Required Materials

Materials to Gather

Launch

  • Groups of 2–4
  • “Usemos la fracción \(\frac{1}{4}\) para crear un diseño” // “Let’s now create a design using the fraction \(\frac{1}{4}\).”
  • “Tómense un minuto para leer el enunciado de la actividad. Después, hablen con su compañero sobre qué piensan que será diferente esta vez en el proceso de dibujar” // “Take a minute to read the activity statement. Then, turn and talk to your partner about how you think the drawing process will be different this time.”
  • 1 minute: quiet think time
  • 1 minute: partner discussion
  • Give each student a ruler or a straightedge.
  • Provide access to extra paper, in case requested.

Activity

  • “Tómense unos minutos para trabajar individualmente en la actividad. Después, muéstrenle su dibujo y su proceso a su grupo” // “Take a few minutes to work independently on the activity. Afterwards, share your drawing and your process with your group.”
  • “Usen una regla cuando dibujen las líneas para unir los puntos” // “Use a straightedge when you draw lines to connect points.”
  • 8–10 minutes: independent work time
  • 6–8 minutes: group discussion
  • Monitor for different strategies and tools students use to partition the sides of the shapes.
  • Also monitor for the starting point students use to identify a length of \(\frac{1}{4}\) on each side of the square. For example, they may:
    • always proceed in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction
    • start from the left endpoint for the horizontal sides, and start from the top endpoint for the vertical sides
    • start from either end of each side and in no particular order

Student Facing

  1. Este es otro cuadrado. En cada lado, marca un punto que muestre \(\frac{1}{4}\) de la longitud del lado.
    Diagram. A square.

    Une cada punto con los puntos de los dos lados que están junto a este. ¿Qué figura hiciste?

  2. Mira la nueva figura que hiciste. En cada lado de esa nueva figura, marca un punto que muestre \(\frac{1}{4}\) de la longitud del lado. Une los puntos de nuevo. ¿Qué figura hiciste?

  3. Repite los pasos que acabaste de hacer al menos dos veces más. Haz algunas observaciones sobre el diseño que acabaste de crear.

Student Response

Teachers with a valid work email address can click here to register or sign in for free access to Student Response.

Activity Synthesis

  • Select students to share their strategies for partitioning each side into fourths. Ask them to demonstrate their methods as needed.
  • Invite students who created different designs to share the decisions they made along the way.
  • “¿Cómo decidieron cuál extremo usar como punto de partida para marcar \(\frac{1}{4}\) de la longitud del lado?” // “How did you decide which endpoint to use as a starting point for marking \(\frac{1}{4}\) of the side length?”
  • “¿Marcaron la longitud de la misma forma cada vez?” // “Did you mark the length the same way each time?”
  • “¿Por qué creen que terminamos con diseños diferentes cuando usamos la fracción \(\frac{1}{4}\)?” // “Why do you think we ended up with different designs when the fraction is \(\frac{1}{4}\)?” (We didn’t mark off \(\frac{1}{4}\) from the same starting point or using the same order, so the locations of the points and the shapes from connecting the points were different.)

Lesson Synthesis

Lesson Synthesis

“Hoy usamos fracciones para partir los lados de figuras geométricas y crear diseños” // “Today we used fractions to partition the sides of geometric shapes and create designs.”

“Hoy partimos los lados de una figura y marcamos puntos en ellos. ¿En qué se pareció eso a partir rectas numéricas y marcar puntos en ellas? ¿En qué fue diferente?” // “How was partitioning the sides of a shape and marking points on them like partitioning and marking points on number lines? How was it different?”

“¿Qué disfrutaron del proceso de hacer diseños con fracciones? ¿Qué fue retador?” // “What did you enjoy about the process of designing with fractions? What was challenging?”