Proportional Thinking Math Activity

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Over the past few weeks I have been creating a math activity for elementary students, and had the opportunity to present my idea to my peers. I chose to work with ratios and proportions to create a game where students have to find missing factors and use their answers to solve a hidden phrase. I suggested working through the questions without using a calculator and provided an example of one way to find the missing factors. Here is a sample of my worksheet:

The Curriculum
This activity would be appropriate for grade 4-5 students, since they would be familiar with multiplication and comparing ratios. The Specific Expectation in the Math Curriculum for grade 5 Number Sense and Numeration states that students must "demonstrate and explain the concept of equivalent fractions" (Page 78), so it is something that is explored in school. The concept of equivalent fractions is introduced in grade 4 but continues throughout elementary school, which is why I think this activity can be a fun way to practice proportions in several grades.

Expansion

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There are so many great ways to expand upon this activity. It can be recreated for group activities in the classroom where each student in the group has a different word to solve, and after the entire group solves the secret word, they are put together to spell out a hidden message. This would be an effective way to get students to still work independently but to also collaborate with their classmates.

Games
The internet is filled with fun games to help students with math. There is a great one that helps students with equivalent ratios, and it's called "Ratio Blaster". With this game, the player is given a ratio and has to shoot the correct equivalent ratio as it falls from the sky. The game is timed and students do better if they work quickly to get as many correct answers as possible. I would recommend this game to any teacher or student interested in dealing with proportions and equivalent ratios.

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