📊Math G3 L5.8 🤔Explore A1 - Cuisenaire Rods

For this lesson you will need the Cuisenaire Rods app.

Cuisenaire Rods App  Links to an external site.(Click on Link)

Part 1

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Which rod equals one-half of the brown rod.

• Purple

How do you know?

• two purple rods make one brown rod.

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Describe the relationship between the purple rods and the brown rods.

• The purple rod is one-half the brown rod.

What is the relationship between the fraction $\frac{1}{2}$and the two purple rods?

• The 2 in the denominator means that the whole was shared equally with two; it takes two purple rods to create the whole.

The first purple rod is $\frac{1}{2}$ and the second purple rod is also $\frac{1}{2}$.  The fraction $\frac{2}{2}$ means to form one whole with two pieces each the size of the unit fraction one-half.  The two purple pieces together create the fraction $\frac{2}{2}$, which means two halves.

Part 2

Our whole is now the blue rod.

(Voice explanation)

Why is the black rod not one-half the length of the blue rod?

• two black rods do not make a blue rod.

Part 3

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The brown rod is the whole.

Which rod is equal to one-fourth the length of the whole?

• red

How many red rods does it take to make the whole?

• 4

What is the unit fraction for the red rod?

• $\frac{1}{4}$

The numerator represents how many pieces are considered and the denominator represents the equal size parts the whole is broken into.

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The red rods represent what?

• $\frac{2}{4}$
• The numerator is 2--there are 2 red rods.
• The denominator is 4--it takes 4 red rods to make the whole.

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The red rods represent what?

• $\frac{5}{4}$
• The numerator is 5--there are 5 red rods.
• The denominator is 4--it takes 4 red rods to make the whole.

Play media comment.