Decimal, Percent, and Fraction Fun!!

I have been using my thinking cap for ways to make my converting decimals, fractions, and percents unit FUN, while still giving the kids plenty of practice...and I think I succeeded with this activity pack! My students had so much fun with it, and I had some of the best quiz scores I have had so far this year! The key to these great quiz scores...games, record sheets, and partner discussions!

I am sorry in advance for some of the old, dark photos in this post! I took updated photos and I can't find them all! Only some are showing up...ugh, technology!

My new unit on Teachers Pay Teachers is my
Comparing and Converting Decimals, Percents, and Fractions activity pack.

 

 Copy the cards on colored paper to ensure that students don't see through the paper during the Memory and Go Fish games. Students cut out the cards and turn them upside-down in rows/columns, just like the old fashioned memory game we all know and love :) The great part about this is that the cards are already mixed up on the cut out sheet. This way, you can give the sheets to the kids to cut out without worrying that they are already seeing the given answers. Since these are partner games, it works perfectly that it is two sheets to cut out. Each partner can cut out a sheet and then the kids are ready to play!

     Students can use the instructions sheet given in the pack (in color and black/white versions) at a math center, or you can play this whole group by partnering up your students and simply explain it out loud to everyone. I do it this way usually, and then I leave the written directions under my document camera so that the kids can refer to it if there is a misunderstanding about the rules.

        Use these record sheets to have the students fill out their matches/pairs. You can each walk around, observing your class while they play, and see the pairs they have found so far to make sure the students are playing correctly without having to interrupt them. It also makes sure that the students are always paying attention to the pairs their opponent is finding, as well! Holding them accountable for their pairs, as well as their partner's, is so important in math. Details can easily be overlooked and if they trust their partner, they may just "believe" them when they say they found a match...if they are forced to write it out, then they will be more active in making sure their partner is correct.
        I just LOVE watching the students play this game because they have great conversation about why certain cards are matches, or why other cards are not matches! Meaningful conversation is a HUGE reason why I feel the kids did better than usual on their quiz scores this week. Because of the practice discussing the topic aloud, they reeeeaally know this topic frontwards and backwards! You know how they say that those who know a topic really well can teach others? This goes with that idea. Because of their deep conversations (sometimes they felt a little more like arguments, haha) they have really put this new skill into their long term memory and can explain it to others.

                

Above: Students playing memory

My students really loved playing memory! But the next day, I introduced a different game with the very same cards...Go Fish!! There is a record sheet and instructions for Go Fish included in the packet, as well. Most of the kids had played Go Fish before, but I have a few extra rules to make sure they are practicing the skill properly and fully. 

 Above: Students playing Go Fish

Additional rules I require when the students play Go Fish:

1) When they first sort their cards between the two players, you'd normally find any matches you have in your hand and put them to the side quickly before playing. With our decimal/percent version, students must stop and log their matches and their partner's matches right away before beginning the game. (Once the game starts, they will continue to log any matches)

2) For example: if they have 0.25 in their hand, then that means they need 25% to get a match. They must not say "do you have twenty-five hundredths" to their partner; instead, they must say "do you have twenty-five percent" because that is the card they are looking for from their partner.

3) ALL matches must be logged by both the student who made the match and their partner throughout the entire game. The person with the most matches at the end is the winner. (I do not give any sort of prize, but usually have winners from different partnerships move around and play other winners).

Another activity included is a decimal, percent, and fraction sort and glue
Students cut the cards out...

 Then sort them into the three columns, and glue! :)
Great way to introduce fractions into the mix

There is also a homework sheet for decimals and percents included in the packet! Some years I use this for homework, simply because I run out of time during the day and would love them to practice quickly at home. It shouldn't take them more than 10 minutes - it is just a half sheet of paper. Other years, I use this as a quick check before the kids leave my classroom...like an exit slip! 

Basically, this pack is everything I used to teach converting! :) My students really loved it! Also, now that they have learned how to play these games, I plan on using these games at math centers in the future, as well as before the state testing for review :)

Find this unit HERE ...Enjoy! :)