IBM MentorPlace Online Activity: Exploring Fractions Jelly Beans
    (Read the Project Description and then choose the most appropriate Online Activities to try in your classroom.)
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     In this project, there are four activities in which students use a candy bar
      (real or not) to help them learn about fractions. They will work first in fourths
        only and then with combining thirds and fourths. The final activity asks the
         students to make up a problem for their mentor.

   
 

Activity 1: Share the Candy
          In this activity you will explore sharing candy with friends. You and your
        mentor will need to be able to talk about the problem using fractions. Thus,
    the first question is, how are we going to type the fractions on the computer?
Decide the best way to do this and tell the mentor. Give some examples.
   

                   After that, you can go to the questions below.

1. When you have a candy bar divided into four equal parts, each part represents what
       fraction of the whole candy bar?

2. Four students, James, Sylvia, Sheila and George, are given a bag containing three
       candy bars. Each candy bar is divided into four equal parts. The bag also contains
       rules for sharing the candy. The rules are:

* Everyone gets some candy.
* No two students get the same amount.

What is the total number of parts of candy?

How many parts does each person get?

What fraction of a candy bar does each person get?

3. Put the students in order from the person who got the least candy to the person who
       got the most candy. Explain how you know that this is the correct order.
     
  Activity 2: More Sharing
   

In this activity you will consider other questions about the bag of candy described in the
last activity. Remember that the bag contained three candy bars with each candy bar divided
into four equal parts. The students' names are James, Sylvia, Sheila and George.

1. The rules for sharing the candy are still the same:

* Everyone gets some candy.
* No two students get the same amount.

Ok, now divide up the candy bars according to the rules above. This time, how many
pieces of candy will each person get? What fraction of all of the candy (all four candy bars)
does each person get?

2. How do you know that you are right?

3. If the rule changed so that every student got the same amount of candy, how much
       would each student get?

     
  Activity 3: Changing the Rules
   

In this activity you will explore what happens when you share candy bars that are divided differently.

You now have three candy bars. The first two bars are divided into three equal parts.
The third candy bar is divided into four equal parts.

1. James, Sylvia, Sheila and George are given a bag containing the three candy bars
       described above. The bag also contains rules for sharing the candy. The rules are:

* Everyone gets some candy.
* No two students get the same amount.

How could the students share the candy bars following the rules above?

2. How many parts does each student get?

3. What fraction of a candy bar does each person get?

4. Put the students in order from the person who got the least candy to the person who got
       the most candy. Explain how you figured this out.
     
  Activity 4: Make Your Own Problem
   

In this activity your group is going to come up with a candy bar problem to give to your
mentor for your mentor to solve! In your problem you will still have four students and
three candy bars. You need to decide:

1. What are the students' names?

2. What are the rules for sharing the candy?

3. What are your questions for your problem that you will send to your mentor? You can use the
       questions in the other activities for a model if you wish.