Rationale
My curriculum unit is designed to teach students to learn to use the number line while learning fractions. The concept “fractions” has many facets, and it is not just learning to add and subtract. It is learning how apply and use fractions in real world situations. I want to give my students an enduring understanding so they are able to apply their learning in other contexts. I want our students to have a solid foundation of the fractions process. They will to learn how to make connections while solving all facets of fractions, and will gain an in depth explanation and learning of the number line while designing a student generated Navajo rug. Most Diné families have Navajo rugs within their homes and have some knowledge about the Navajo rug, but not the historical, spiritual, utilization, expense and time for creating and weaving a rug.
My students are fifth grade Native American Indian (Diné/Navajo) English Language Learning students. Our students lack understanding of the Navajo rug and the fraction concept. They know enough to pass, but they need deeper knowledge as part of their learning continuum. Their state and district math assessments show that a majority of our students score at the 40%tile and below. As fifth grade students, they should know their basic facts of whole number operations: addition, subtraction, and multiplication and division facts. The knowledge of operations should help students to solve fraction problems, but in the real world of education this is not so in our classrooms. Schools on the Reservation still use a scripted text book as their core curriculum.
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