Sara Brisby

4
th
grade: Understand decimal notation for fractions, and compare decimal fractions

CCSS.4.NF.6 Use decimal notation for fractions with denominators 10 or 100.
CCSS.4.NF.5 Express a fraction with denominator 10 as an equivalent fraction with
denominator 100, (future lesson) and use this technique to add two fractions with
respective denominators 10 and 100.

Class has already studied fractions: building fractions, identifying fractions, multiplying a
whole number by a fraction, equivalent fractions, and comparing fractions. We have also
reviewed place value by making a large poster with the names of the places: millions to
ones, then the numbers underneath: 1,000,000 to 1. Students noticed the pattern of
increasing 10 times getting bigger. They were able to make a generalization that numbers
would get 10 times smaller going the opposite way. We wrote tenths, hundredths, .1, and
.01 just based on patterns students saw.

Big Ideas: Students can use money to identify decimal place
value. Money will help students see how decimals and fractions
are related when comparing them to whole dollars.

Lesson Goal #1: To activate knowledge about money.

Open Question: Using pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters; what are the different
ways you can make up to a dollar? (99 cents, $0.99)

Expected Student Responses:
99 pennies
3 quarters, 2 dimes, 4 pennies
9 dimes, 9 pennies
Various combinations of money, depending on the student.

Management:
Students will work with partners and list their ideas as they work.
Teacher questions to probe thinking: What other combinations can you use
to make 20? 30? 40? Can you add those different combinations to get
close to 99 cents?

Academic Language Check:
Guide students in changing their informal language to academic language.
When students are discussing ways to add to 99, they may say and, put this here, and
this too. They need to say, Add 99 pennies, Add 3 quarters, which equals 75 cents,
plus 2 dimes, which is 20 more, and then 4 pennies, which is 4 more.
Add, more, equals.





Debrief: Have students share partner ideas with their groups, then with the whole class.
Make a class chart. Remind them to use their academic words. Provide sentence frames:
One way to make 99 cents is .
Another way to add up to 99 is .
Another possibility to use change to make 99 cents is to .
I agree with s idea to .

Summarize what we have learned:
Provide students with the following paragraph frame on a strip of paper. Each student
completes the frame and tapes it in their math journal. They each need to do one, but they
can continue to discuss with their group. Remind them to use academic language.
Have students read their paragraph to a partner.

There are many ways to use money to make the number 99. One way is to
use . Another way is .Also,
I can .


Formative Assessment: Exit Ticket
Using at least 3 different coins, show me one way to make 99 cents. How do you know?
Show me your work.


Lesson Goal #2: Students will draw conclusions about money and writing them as
decimals. They will see how to relate money to decimal place value.

Task:
In partners, students use decimal place value mats and money to show the place value.
Have them keep track of their amounts they make, and write it on the mat so they can see
the value and how to write it as a decimal.

Remind them to use their academic language. Review chart from yesterday.

Expected response:
Students might not know how to place an amount like 4 pennies in the hundreds place.


Management:
Teacher questions-
How would you place 4 pennies on the chart? How would you write it as a decimal?
How much is a penny worth? How many cents in one dollar? How many pennies make
up a dime? Relate to the hundredths place and tenths place.
Reference using ten ones to make a ten. You need ten pennies to make a dime.


Debrief:
Check in to see how students are doing writing money amounts as decimals. In particular,
amounts using just the hundredths place. See if students can come relate amounts greater
than ten, to the correct place on the mat.

Have students talk with their table groups about what amounts they came up with and
how to write them as a decimal and where to place them on their mat.

Summarize what we have learned:
Today we have learned we can use money (change) to make different amounts, less than
one dollar, and see how to write the amounts as a decimal.


Exit Ticket:
Answer the following questions and turn in before leaving.


What is the largest decimal you can make using just the hundredths place? What amount
of money is this?