Jhea Velasco
2nd Year BEED
ADIDAS
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to subtract fractions with unlike denominators.
Have students tell the meaning of "denominator," "numerator," and "fractions" using whatever
visuals they need to help in their explanations.
Give them vocabulary cards and allow them to draw visuals for the new terms.
Provide ELs reference materials in their L1 to look up new terms.
Materials and preparation
Class set of Subtracting Fractions
Whiteboard and markers
Class set of lined paper
Subtracting Fractions with Unlike Denominators
exercise (optional)
Class set of Fraction Word Problems:
Subtracting with Unlike Denominators (optional)
Dice (optional)
Attachments
Subtracting Fractions (PDF)
Subtracting with Unlike Denominators Word Problem (PDF)
Related books and/or media
Find interactive books for each child's level.
ACTIVITY
Introduction (5 minutes)
Write ⅘ − ⅕ on the board and ask students to solve for the problem on their whiteboards using
whatever method they choose.
DISCUSSION
Beginning
Allow students to use their home language (L1) or new language (L2) in their discussions about the
subtraction problem.
Provide a real-world example they are familar with so they can fully understand the new terms.
Intermediate
Write the academic language they can use throughout the lesson on the board as you introduce the
language.
Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (8 minutes)
Remind students that the denominator is the bottom number of a fraction and represents the total
number of pieces of the whole, while the numerator is the top number and represents some of the
parts
of the whole (e.g., ⅖ represents 2 pieces of the total 5 pieces).
Write ⅘ − ⅒ on the board. Explain that the denominator is different so they cannot subtract the
number1 from the number 4. Tip: draw bar models of ⅘ and ⅒ to show that the total parts, or whole,
(i.e.,denominator) is different, so if they subtracted the number 1 from ⅘ it would subtract too much.
Think aloud finding multiples for the denominators 5 (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, etc.) and 10 (e.g., 10, 20,
30,40, etc.) and write them on the board. Explain to them that a multiple is the result of multiplying a
number by an integer (e.g., 4 x 4 = 12, where 12 is the multiple).Consider the list of multiples and then
circle the least common multiple, or the smallest multiple they have in common (i.e., 10). Then, think
aloud how to change the 5 in the denominator to 10 (i.e.,multiplying 5 by 2) and multiply by the
number 2 on the top and bottom so that you get a new equationof 8⁄10 − ⅒.
Subtract one-tenth from eight-tenths to get a total of seven-tenths remaining. Compare the final
answer to what the answer would have been had you subtracted the equation using unlike
denominators.
INPUT
Have students share their answers with their elbow partner. Gather their background knowledge by
asking them questions about the numerator, denominator, and how they got their answer.
Ask for a volunteer to come to the board and solve the problem using a number line, area model, or
simply subtracting one-fifth from four-fifths.
Tell students that today they'll build on their understanding of subtracting fractions with like
denominators to subtract fractions with unlike denominators.
Intermediate
Provide the following sentence stems for students' explanations:
"You need to change unlike denominators to like denominators because ____."
"If you subtract unlike denominators, then ____."
Allow students to discuss their answers with sympathetic partners and use vocabulary cards and
drawings to help them share their answers.
Provide the following sentence stems for students' explanations:
"I changed my answer from ____ to ____ because ____."
"My answer was correct because ____."
Give them some guiding questions for their critiques: "Is the explanation easy to understand? Do you
agree with the answer? Do you have something you want to add to the explanation?"
Allow students to use sentence frames from the board to assist them in their writing with sequencing
words.
Beginning
Provide the following paragraph frame for their explanations with space for them to add more steps if
needed:
"First, I ____. Then, I ____. Next, I ____. My answer was I ____."
DEEPENING
Allow students to share their explanations with their partners before sharing with the whole class.
Encourage them to use their vocabulary terms, such as "unlike denominators," "least common
multiple," "multiple," etc.
Allow students to use sentence frames from the board to assist them in their writing with sequencing
words.
ACTIVITY
Provide vocabulary cards for the key terms and ask students to rephrase the definitions as they go.
Have ELs restate the method for finding the least common multiple and the importance of doing so
before they subtract the fractions.
Independent working time (12 minutes)
Distribute the first page of the Subtracting Fractions worksheet and ask students to complete the
problem on their own. Remind them to use the steps written on the board if they get stuck and do
not know what to do next.Have them share their answers with mixed ability groups and adjust them
as necessary. If partners had to adjust their answers often, provide further explanation to the group
and ask the students to restate your explanation.
Allow one student to share a problem and ask the other students to critique the process the
presenter used to subtract the problem.
Distribute a lined sheet of paper and write 11⁄12 − ¾ on the board. Ask students to solve the problem
and write down their process.
Allow students to share their answer to the subtraction problem and their written explanation aloud
to their partners. Give them the opportunity to make any adjustments as necessary.
ASSESSMENT
Guided Practice (15 minutes)
Ask students to explain why it's important to change the denominators so that they are the same.
Write
some of their responses on the board.
Write 5⁄8 − ¼ on the board and ask students to help you solve the problem. Call on students to tell
you
the next step and make some "mistakes" they have to correct along the way.
Have a volunteer explain how to subtract fractions when they have different denominators. They
should
understand the following steps:
1. Check to make sure the denominators are the same.
2. If the denominators are not the same, find the least common multiple for the denominators.
3. Multiply the denominator and numerator by the number that will make the denominator equal to
the least common multiple.
4. Subtract the fractions.
Write the steps on the board for students to reference as they work with their partners to complete
the first two problems from the Subtracting Fractions worksheet. Ask students to use their
whiteboards to complete the problems.
SYNTHESIS
Ask students to explain why it's important to only subtract fractions that have the same
denominators.
Explain that understanding how to subtract simple fractions correctly will help them when they have
to subtract mixed numbers.
