NAME ______________________________ DATE _______________

FAMILY LETTER

Related Activities to Try at Home

Dear Family,

The activities below are related to the mathematics in the unit Fraction Cards and Decimal Grids. You can use the activities to enrich your child's mathematical learning experience.

Fraction and Decimal Scavenger Hunt At school, students are working on understanding fractions and decimals. Be on the lookout for examples of fractions or decimal numbers in your world—in the kitchen, in a toolbox or a sewing kit, in grocery or hardware stores, or in magazines and newspapers. Take these opportunities to talk with your child about what the fraction or decimal means.

Fair Shares You can build on the work of this unit at home by capitalizing on everyday situations that involve fractions. Issues of fairness often offer good examples of fractions.

• • After making a batch of brownies and giving away part of the batch to the neighbors, you want to divide what's left equally among 3 people.

  What is 1 3 1 third of 18 brownies?

  What if you want to divide it equally among 6 people?

  What is 1 6 1 sixth of 18 brownies?

• • Three people are sharing a pizza: 1 3 1 third has mushrooms, 1 3 1 third has pepperoni, and 1 3 1 third has onions. What might the pizza look like?

Fractions in the Kitchen Cooking is another great way to learn about fractions. Ask your child questions such as, How can we measure 3 4 3 fourths cup? Look together at how the fractions appear on a measuring cup. Doubling recipes or cutting them in half can help your child understand relationships such as 1 3  cup + 1 3  cup = 2 3  cup 1 third , cup , plus , 1 third , cup , equals , 2 thirds , cup or 2 × 1 3  cup = 2 3  cup 2 times , 1 third , cup , equals , 2 thirds , cup .

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