Elementary One Stop Shop: Multiplying Fractions by a Whole Number using a Graphic Organizer

Hi Friends!

I can hardly believe half of the school year is over! So much to teach and SO little time to get it all done!

It's time to extend previous understandings of multiplication. Students will learn to multiply a whole number by fractional parts! Providing a variety of models to represent this process with the use of a graphic organizer will make these standards a walk in the park for you and your students!

If you are not aware of the plethora of resources through Khan Academy and Learn Zillion, please take the time to familiarize yourself! To get this party started, I show my class the following video which models the process using area models.

https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/4654-multiply-fractions-by-whole-numbers-using-models

Then, I give my students a Graphic Organizer for multiplying fractions and challenge my class to complete the Area Model portion.

I am always surprised most of my students are able to complete the model with just the demonstration from the video! After reviewing it, pencils down, and I share the following video to demonstrate the process using a number line and repeated addition to multiply a whole number by fractional parts.

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic-home/arith-review-fractions/mult-unit-frac/v/multiplying-fractions-and-whole-numbers

Following the video, I challenge my students to label the number line on the graphic organizer and solve the problem using repeated addition. Most often, there are only a few students that need guidance with the number line.

At this point, each student has three strategies for multiplying a fraction by a whole number and an example of each!

If you are interested in this activity you can access it as well as additional resources for Multiplying Fractions by a Whole Number by clicking on the links or images below.