Fractions and 3-D shapes

Please look for homework in your child's homework bag or backpack.  It will be due Thursday, which will give two nights to get it done.


We will continue our fraction work this week.  We will review the parts of a fraction and what they mean:

The denominator (the number on the bottom) tells how many pieces a whole object or set is divided into.

The numerator (the number on the top) tells what fraction of a whole you are talking about.


Students will also compare fractions with the same denominator, which will mean that they will have to look at the numerator to decide which fraction is greater.

Students will also become aware that the larger the digit in the denominator is, the smaller the pieces of a whole actually are.

Here are some websites for review:

Cool Math 4 Kids: What are fractions?

Cool Math 4 Kids: Magic 1

3-D shapes are something else we will look at this week.  These will already be familiar to students as they have studied them in earlier grades.  The focus of our investigations will be to describe 3-D objects according to the shape of the faces, and the number of edges and vertices.  The shapes we will be considering are:

cubes
spheres
cones
cylinders
prisms
pyramids

The following is some of what students will need to know:

The first shape is a cylinder (like a can); the second shape is called a square prism; and the third shape is a triangular prism.  For prisms, the base (the shape of the end) is what determines the name.


If you have any question about anything, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

Have a great week.