This free math video gives an activity that should be done after a child has a lot of practice using Cuisenaire Rods to represent fractions. Start out with the easier problems. Don’t move to the harder problems too quickly. Let the child lead the pace.
Manipulatives like Cuisenaire Rods help all children, but especially those with visual and kinesthetic learning styles, to grasp the math concepts that might otherwise go over their heads.
The activity in this free math video helps bring the child’s work with the 3-dimensional Cuisenaire Rods down to 2-dimensional paper. It is important that children understand that every fraction represents a point on the number line. This is one way to help develop that understanding.
This free math video shows a simple way to introduce “Improper Fractions” using Cuisenaire Rods. It’s best to do this activity first with only white rods and your “one” rod. My daughter has worked with fraction concepts using Cuisenaire Rods for a couple months so she understands that she can just use a purple rod in place of 4 white rods to represent 4 as the numerator. If this is confusing to you, get the rods out and do this activity yourself! It really does help!