Problem-Solving Lesson

Sandwich Servings: Whole Numbers Divided by Fractions

Grade: 5
Alignment with Maine Standards:
CCSS.Math.Content.5.NF.B.7.c
Solve real world problems involving division of unit fractions by non-zero whole numbers and
division of whole numbers by unit fractions, e.g., by using visual fraction models and equations
to represent the problem. For example, how much chocolate will each person get if 3 people
share 1/2 lb of chocolate equally? How many 1/3-cup servings are in 2 cups of raisins?
Mathematics Goals:
Students can divide a whole number by a unit fraction and show their thinking with a model.
Students needs:
Students understand what a fraction is and how to add and subtract fractions by finding a like
denominator. They have just been learning about using fractions and multiplication: using
fractions to resize numbers, multiplying fractions by whole numbers and vice versa using
repeated addition and parts of the whole, and finding the area of rectangles with sides that are
fractions of units.
Materials:
Handout with problem written out and space to work
Document camera, projector, and screen
Fraction bars
Exit slip assessment
Lesson Plan
Before (10 min):
Give students a simpler version of the task:
To remind students of the equal subtraction/repeated subtraction concept for division, I
will present them with a problem that is similar in concept but using whole numbers: If
you have 13 cups of lemonade, how many bottles can you fill if each bottle holds 3
cups?
Ask students to draw out or describe how they would act out the story to figure out the
answer. Listen to their ideas. Highlight those ideas that emphasize repeatedly taking 3
away from the total. Emphasize asking the questions, How many 3s are in 13? and
How many groups of threes make 13?
Present problems:
Show first problem on document camera, read through, and ask students what the
problem is asking.
1. Super Sub Sandwiches makes huge sandwiches that are way to big for one person to eat
on their own. A childs serving is of a sandwich. If Super Sub has three sandwiches for

sale, how many children can they serve? Show your thinking with words, pictures, or
numbers.
2. At Super Sub Sandwiches, a small size is of a sandwich and a medium size is of a
sandwich. Which size can serve the most people-- if they have six sandwiches for sale-- a child
size , a small , or a medium ? Explain why.
How do these expressions relate to the question above?
6
6
6
Students need to work independently for five minutes. Then they should join with a
partner of their choice and share ideas.
If students finish early, they can take the extension problem from the board to try.
During:
Students are expected to be working on their own and then sharing work/continuing to
work with a partner. They can choose to use fraction bars, graph paper, or number lines.
Suggest that students who are stuck draw a picture to help them visualize the problem.
Look for and note down students who are solving the problem in different ways to have
explain during the After phase. Choose the order for them to share.
Questions to ask students:
Assessing:
How can you put the problem in your own words?
How did you decide what to do?
How did you decide whether your answer was right?
What is something you did in this problem that you could use to help
you solve other problems?
Scaffolding:
How could a drawing or model help you understand this?
What in the problem do you have to split/divide up?
How much for each serving?
Extending:
How can you show show that idea with [a drawing, an equation]?
What patterns do you notice?
Monitor student work and discussion and note misconceptions to address during the
After phase.
Provide another problem to students who are finished: Describe what is happening in
each sandwich situation below. How many sandwiches and which kind of serving size
are in each situation? 8 , 5 , 6 . Estimate which situation serves the most
people. Explain your reasoning with words, pictures, or numbers.
After:
First get answers from the class for the two problems. Record them on the whiteboard.
If students got different answers, have students with different answers come up and

share during the next part so that the class can evaluate the strategies used and decide
which answer is correct and why.
With the first problem, have students share their solutions at the document camera (the
students that I have already asked). Have them fully explain their thinking and
encourage other students to comment or ask questions if they do not understand..
Talk about the different representations used: Some students may use pie like fractions
and others may draw a rectangle sandwich and split it up. Record this on chart paper for
future reference.
Ask What does 3 1/6 mean? Relate it back to 13 cups of lemonade in 3 cup bottles-how many 3s in 13? Emphasize How many sixths in three? If we have three, how
many sixths can we cut? and How many groups of 1/6 does it take to make 3?
language.
Have students share solutions for the second problem in the same way.
Ask the whole class: Why do you get more servings when you use smaller fractions as
divisors, when you divide by smaller fractions? Turn & Talk and then share.
Have students Turn & Talk to the other side: Will the answer of a problem like this
(whole number divided by a fraction) be greater or less than one? Why? Share as a
class.

Assessment:
Observation notes:
Notice if students are using their understanding of fractions to split the whole
into those fractions.
Notice if students are using their understanding of the relative size of unit
fractions.
Notice if students are making a connection between multiplication and division.
Exit slip: Mrs. Provencher brought in pies to share with her class. She brought six pies,
and each student can get of a pie. How many students can she feed? (Are there
enough for our whole class of 23 students? Why or why not?
Accommodations:
For students like HA and MA, after debriefing the lemonade problem I will do a thinkaloud and jot down ideas for how to think through the problem. What is my total
amount? How much does each bottle hold? What am I trying to figure out? How many
3s in 13?
For students like HA and JR who struggle with the concept of fractions, I will make sure
they are drawing pictures to start off their problem solving. I will provide fraction bars to
give them a visual representation of the sizes of fractions and to see how many onesixths (or one-thirds or one-halves) fit into a whole.
For B, an ELL newcomer, I will provide similar problems from the Envisions curriculum in
Spanish.

Problem Handout page 1

Problem Handout page 2

xit Slip:

______________________________________________________________________________
Reflection:
Overall, this lesson went wellthe students were all engaged and interested in the task, the
time and flow went according to plan, and we had a fruitful discussion at the end.[1]
Unfortunately, we were all so into the discussion that I completely forgot to plan in 5 minutes
for their exit slip, so I gave it to them at the beginning of the next class.[2]
Though the timing was quite good in this lesson, the beginning felt a little bit rushed
because for the first few minutes of the lesson I had to review a confusion from the day before.
But that kind of thing is going to happen, and there isnt much you can do about it. Im glad I
did, and it was a pretty quick review. But it got me a little bit distracted and I forgot to
introduce the simpler division problem with the lemonade! I didnt realize Id forgotten until
the after discussion when I wanted to refer back to it.
Despite that, I was impressed by the students ability to comprehend the concept of
division by a fractiona concept whose difficulty I hear teachers, student teachers, and the
general population complain about. This just shows that a hard concept can be approached in
a way that relates it to the students prior knowledge and allows them to pull the concept from
their concrete experience. Judging by their work and exit slips, every single one of them could
conceptualize dividing a whole number by a unit fraction. Here are my notes from the exit slips:
MA, MM, SC, HA, GL Drawing and counting

 E, AM, M - Drawings of pies split into fourths, counted first four, then did 4x6=24. AM
drew bars to show her computation of 4x6. M drew first, then counted or multiplied and
used multiplication to explain her work
NM Drawing to show repeated addition and multiplication. Wrote 4 = There is
enough for the whole class, even one forth for Ms. Provencher
L, As, CV, G, CS Computation, using drawing to show thinking but he doesnt need it. A
included, by the way, 6 = 24/4 and 24 4 = 6.
JR - Confusing multiplication standard algorithm with the concept of division in this
problem. Hser drawing and explanation show that she understands the concept.
As a teacher, I loved how my goal of finding students to share during the after part of
the lesson forced me to truly listen and understand what they were doing during their work
time. I found that my interactions with them were more meaningful as I sought to understand
[3]rather than just check if they were doing it right which is what I often end up doing. I was
amazed at the diversity of ways students worked through the problems. I chose three students
to share for #1, and three more to share for #s 2 & 3. It was fun to look first at all the ways
students were solving and then figure out what order to put them in. I had HA and GL, who
drew and counted 1/6ths, share first. Then N, who drew and did repeated addition with 6, and
last L who simply computed the multiplication without a picture. I had asked him ahead of time
to explain how he knew to do that, so he was prepared[4]. I tried to get a similarly diverse
sharing for #s 2&3, with MM and Al who drew out the three situations and multiplied to find
the total number of pieces; M who wrote out an explanation based on knowing the relative
sizes of the portions (unit fractions), and As who was able to verbalize the relationship between
multiplication and division of fractions. CV added on to her explanation and this flowed nicely
into the turn and talk, with lots of Oh!s
All in all, I had a fantastic time teaching this lesson and my students were interested,
engaged, and learned what I wanted them to. Once I have my own classroom, I am excited to
be able to teach through problem-solving much more! [5]