This free math video is just a quick overview of where we’re going with fractions using Cuisenaire Rods. If you are confused, you need to get your hands on the rods. When I first tried to figure out how to teach fractions with the rods, I thought it was impossible… until I actually sat down and played with them several times (along with reading several books!) and now I’m starting to see how it all works. I’m still in the midst of processing it all so you’ll be following me on this journey of discovering fractions conceptually!

This is part two in the series of videos showing my daughters doing an activity where they discover fraction rules on their own. In this free math video, you can see them begin to abstract the concepts once they’ve understood them in a concrete way. Of course, kids love big numbers so we end up with 1,000,000/2,000,000 at one point!!!

This activity should be done many times and with different rods being used as “one” in order to get the full benefit. With enough experience with the rods, children will begin to generalize the rules and extend them (as mine did in this video) into larger and more abstract numbers.

Cuisenaire Rods are a visual and tactile way for children to explore fraction concepts. They can discover for themselves the fraction rules that are often so hard to remember (because most of us have no visual representation to help the rules make sense!). These are a great learning tool. Go buy some!!!