Getting Ready for JUMP Math: Introductory Unit Using Fractions

Introduction

A companion to the grade-specific JUMP workbooks and manuals, the Introductory Unit Using Fractions is designed to capture the attention and focus of all children. By starting with this set of student worksheets and their accompanying teacher's manual, teachers can train their students' attention, increase their focus, and convince students that they can be good at mathematics. The worksheets also teach students to identify and apply rules, and extend chains of inference.

In a recent pilot, all of the teachers who used the Introductory Unit acknowledged on a survey that they had greatly underestimated their weaker students in over ten categories, including:

• enthusiasm
• concentration
• ability to remember number facts
• ability to keep up with faster students

Teaching Fractions First

Getting Ready for JUMP Math: Introductory Unit Using Fractions is intended for all students and is designed with two primary goals in mind: confidence building and the development of problem solving skills. The success experienced in this unit will work to break down the psychological barriers faced by students, while the algorithmic problem solving techniques teach:

• What to look for in a question
• How to structure the work
• Methods of organizing the answers to find a solution

Fractions are covered in depth later on in the program (as part of the grade-specific material). The purpose of this pre-unit is to teach:

• Symbol manipulation
• Pattern recognition
• Deductive reasoning

Starting with the Introductory Unit will also prepare students for work in other areas of mathematics, such as probability, ratios, decimals, measurement and division.