Moon Day

Objective:
The students will discover that fractions make up part of a whole.

Materials

• The lesson may be prepped with one of the following books (if desired): "The Moon Seems to Change" by Franklyn M. Branley, "The Best Book of the Moon" by Ian Graham, "What the Moon is Like" by Franklyn M. Branley.  

• For each pair of students have -1 whole moon cut out of blue paper, 1 yellow moon cut in 1/2, 1 green moon cut in 1/4's.  The 1/2 and 1/4's should equal the whole.

Procedure

1. Give each pair of students their moon shapes.  Discuss the terms whole, half, and one-fourth.

2. Have the students place the 1/2 shapes on top of the whole shape.  Ask questions such as "How are the two 1/2s and the whole the same?" and "How are they different?"

3. Then have them place the 1/4's over the yellow (whole) piece and ask similar questions.

4. Then they should place the 1/4's over the 1/2 shapes.  Ask questions again.

5. Finally, allow the students to continue exploring the materials and brainstorm other fractions (2/4=1/2, 4/4=1 whole, etc.)

6. The pieces may be stapled together and labeled to form a small flap book.

Other Lesson Ideas

• Practice counting by odds and evens, or 5's and 10's, by using 1/2 and whole moons on a number line.

• Use actual moon pies as a snack and break them into fractions before eating them.

• Using the rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle", measure how far each child can jump.  This can be used as a combination math and movement activity.  Use 6 inch diameter paper moons to measure the distance jumped.