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Lesson Planning Sheet Title: Multiplying Fractions Learning Objectives: By the end of the lesson: All students should be able to calculate the product of two ordinary fractions by cross simplifying. Most students should be able to calculate the product of a top heavy and ordinary fraction by cross simplifying. Some students should be able to calculate the product of two mixed numbers. Key words: Product, Fraction, Cross Simplify, Multiply Learning Activities Starter/Introduction Recap calculating fractions of an amount to ensure students are able to perform basic calculations with fractions. For example, to calculate 2/5 of 20 it is important that students understand to calculate 1/5 by dividing by 5 then to double it to calculate 2/5. Often, students simply use the rote method of dividing by the bottom and multiplying by the top which does not lead to relational understanding. Have the calculations presented on mini-whiteboards to aid assessment of prior learning. Development It is important that the students understand the word of in maths represents a multiplication so x can be thought of as of a which from the circle to the right can visualised as , of 2/3 can be seen as 1/3 and so on. Once students have a visual understanding of the concept move onto the numerical technique. When calculating products of fractions such as students could divide through by cross simplifying so the calculation becomes this enables the calculation to be simplified rather than having to simplify the answer at the end. Have students attempt a few questions on mini-whiteboards for assessment and feedback before proceeding onto the third slide where they could work independently. To check their answers the students should use the fraction function on the calculator. This will provide immediate feedback to ensure pace is maintained. Plenary To order the fractions from smallest to largest the students could either use equivalent fractions and short division or convert the fraction to a decimal using a calculator. Encourage the class to try equivalent fractions and short division first since this links various fraction topics together. Solutions and workings can be presented to the teacher at the end of the lesson for assessment and feedback. Encourage students to share their approaches with each other. Differentiation More able: Students could calculate the product of basic algebraic fractions such as, Resources: Calculator, Mini-whiteboards

Link to calculating the area or volumes of simple shapes where the lengths are given as fractions. Less Able Students may need to stick with calculating the product of simplified ordinary fractions before moving onto top heavy fractions or mixed numbers.

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