Percent Activity
Materials
- Fraction sheets, page 147 (1 set per student)
- Percent sheets, page 148 (1 set per student)
- Markers (1 or more colors per student)
- Scissors (1 per student)
- 12" x 18" construction paper (1 sheet per student)
- Glue sticks (1 per student)
- Dark markers or pens (1 per student)
- The completed project prepared before the lesson by the teacher—but not shown to the class until late in the lesson
Introduction
This project teaches students how to convert fractions into decimals and percents. The project also requires students to cut out and color sheets of paper that prove visually the equivalence between original fractions and their converted values.
The Project
Unlike most other Math Art projects, the teacher should not show her completed project until after the students have completed their own projects.
The teacher starts the lesson by writing four fractions on the board: 12/20, 1/2, 1/5, and 4/5. Ask students, “How do we know which of these fractions is the biggest and which is the smallest? Let’s convert them all into decimals and then into percents to find out.”
Explain to students that the word “percent” means “out of 100.” The teacher should say, “In order to turn these fractions into a percent, we’ll need to first convert each of them into equivalent fractions with denominators of 100.” The teacher should draw the following equations at the front of the room:
