Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion reality check - fractions

Hi all -

Random question:

Why would the suggested age for these flashcards be age 8 and up*? Fractions Flash Cards (Brighter Child Flash Cards) from Amazon.

I bought these cards for my dsnearly6 since I thought he might enjoy them. So far, we mainly do fractions at home by cutting up food and talking about it.

Usually the manufact's suggested age ranges for toys, books etc. are pretty accurate for ND.

Am I missing something? Or maybe I am asking the wrong question.

Why does traditional education wait so long to introduce fractions? As Maria Montessori figured out, kids (ND) can recognize and start learning about fractions as early as 2.5 to 3. Even if they can't keep track of numerators and denominators or perform operations with fractions they can learn 1/2, 1/3, 1/4...

What am I missing here?

Thanks!

EW


*publisher says grade 3-5
http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/Products/CarsonDellosa/PID-0769677339.aspx

Amazon says age 9-12

box says 8+

Gifted children( especially mathmatically gifted) learn fraction early, 3 or 4 years old.

The easiest way is divide a circle into a few parts, you can see it in year 2 book.

But if you do like to know what fraction mean, possibly has to wait after division.

When kids understand division, you can involve fraction---
like split 8 lego blocks into 4 groups, 1 group, means 1/4 is 2,
2 groups means, 2/4 is 2 of 2, which is 4...etc

My son understand half and quarter when he was three, by cutting food, now he is 4.3, can add and multiply fraction, but my suggestion, use objects instead of flash card

Everyday Math, a controversial math curriculum, introduces them in first grade.

hi -

thanks for the suggestion.

I agree, objects are better than flash cards for learning how fractions work.

I was thinking of the flash cards more as a way to help remember the nomenclature. and just the novelty of them. He's never had flash cards before...

I hate flashcards BUT my kids love them for some reason. They have them to play with not for 'quizzing' them on. It makes them happy, lol.

Actually DS likes to quiz ME with his flashcards

Fractions themselves I think kids can learn fairly early. How to use the fractions may take more time for the average kid.

Both my kids know/understand basic fractions. DS knows how to add, multiply (somewhat), and can sometimes remember that 2/4 is the same as 1/2. DD only knows if something is 1/2, 1/3, or 1/4 and that the parts must be equal size.

I do find it odd that the flash cards are 8+ unless they get into adding them and other such stuff. Then maybe that's a normal age?

EastnWest

Flash card maybe help remember facts not some how I found it also easy to forget. The best way to let them remember the math fact, is to understand the concept, and know the patterns

We have a times table( up to 12x12) at home just handing on the wall, DS loves to read it,not only help him to remember it but also easy to figure out the numbers pattern.
for example, 1/4 of 8 is 2, 2/4 of 8 is 4...exactly is 2 times table.
There is division table too

Don't worry about the age, if kids can understand it and like to learn, they can do it any age

My thought having had kids in ps, a public charter school, hsed, and one now doing EPGY math, is that the schools don't wait until 3rd-5th grade to introduce the concept of fractions, but do wait until that point to do a lot of work with them -- LCM, reducing, making improper fractions into mixed #s, etc.

Dd9 is a 4th grader and working very slowly through EPGY as a supplement. She's in the 5th grade on EPGY at this point. There was a lot of work on fractions in EPGY 4th grade and the ps covers a lot of fraction stuff in late 4th as well. One of my friends tells me that 5th grade math also covers quite a bit of fractions in school settings. I do recall my kids getting basics of what fractions were (1/2 of a pizza, 1/3 of an apple, etc.) by at least 1st grade, though. (eta: by "getting" the basics of what fractions were, I don't mean that it took them until 1st grade to understand the concept of 1/2, but that they were given that info in math classes by 1st grade at the latest.)

I am doubtful that those fraction flashcards would be beneficial at any age.
Most ND kids can easily grasp, by 5-6, that 3/4 of a pie, means to count 3 out of the total 4 equal parts. I am sure my 3yo could master the point of those cards in 5min.

I am clueless as to why they would say 8 and up. Most fractions, are taught in grades 3-5 are not taught with "pie pictures" but on a fraction table and shift heavily into word problems.

I would worry that a child who has been heavily drilled with fraction flashcards alone, may develop a false sense of mastery, and have problems shifting into the deeper concept of fractions.

I know a lot of older kids who really, really, really don't get fractions. I think their native understanding has been destroyed by the way they've been taught. It's pretty funny to watch a bored 12 year old play with halvning and quartering etc things, and then not be able to work out that two quarter cups of flour is the same as half a cup, having physically done it, in measuring cups, twenty seconds earlier. (true story)

A 9 year old I know had a similar brain-freeze trying to figure out how far it was to go 2k twice, becasue he tried to do it as fractions and got all gumbled up in the terms "Numerator" "demonimator" etc. This despite having started by saying "well, the whole distance is 4k, so half is 2k" (IE: the problem was so easy for him [being 2+2, after all] he started by stating it in terms of the answer -- and then couldn't solve it becasue he got confused by LCMs)

So.... what I'm trying to say is... I, personally, wouldn't trust the "recomended" approach to fractions. (Or flashcards, personally, but if the kid likes 'em I guess that's a moot point)

we don't drill
did not plan to use them alone

just something extra for my ds to play with/experiment with/look at/think about in conjunction with the other things we do.

Thanks to all for your replies!