Introduction/rationale
It was a familiar scene in my high school special education math resource classroom. I had a small group of students at my table working on a new concept while the rest were working independently on what was supposed to be review material in the district-provided online intervention program. Within a few minutes, most of the students had disengaged from their computers. Some were clicking at a rapid pace that indicated they were not even reading the questions. Some had put their heads down and gone to sleep. Others had strayed into other activities all together. A precious two still stared at their screen bewildered and one slowly raised her hand. “Miss, this has fractions. You know we can’t do fractions.” And unfortunately, I did know. I have been teaching high school math in the resource setting for eight years and while each group, and each student, have their own strengths and weakness, fractions are consistently a weakness for them all.
Extending beyond just the concepts of fractions, performing basic operations, comparing fractions, and determining equivalent fractions, students are asked to apply this principle to advanced math concepts such as ratios and proportions like slope (rate of change) in Algebra and dilation of figures in Geometry. They are being asked to learn new concepts on an incomplete base of knowledge. Some of them have been able to memorize “tricks” like the butterfly method for filling in the missing part of equivalent fractions, but don’t understand the concept enough to have set up that equation or proportion for themselves. It is also important to talk about fractions and ratios in some of the same conversations because they are not exchangeable words for the same concept but often looked at in the same way because of how they are sometimes represented. By exploring them both within the same unit, we are able to make the distinction, discuss their relationships, and hopefully prevent some of the confusion that comes when introduced separately.
Combining my own observations with those of other math and science colleagues on my campus, it has become apparent that I need to take a direct approach to teaching these concepts and help students to apply them to their grade-level studies. This unit will address the target skills and concepts through both hands-on activities and models experienced in real life. These activities will “support applied mathematics as essential for promoting quantitative literacy and improving mathematics performance, as food is an effective teaching tool for engaging students in retaining information about multidisciplinary concepts.”[1]
This unit was written to serve special education grade 10 and 11 math resource students at Rudder High School in Bryan ISD in Texas, a campus serving approximately 1,700 students with a distinct demographic profile: roughly 65% Hispanic, 18.5% African American, and 14% White.[2] Notably, up to 81% of the student body is classified as economically disadvantaged, 31% are Emergent Bilingual students, and over 16% receive Special Education services. Campus state assessment data reveal significant gaps in traditional mathematical proficiency, indicating there is an urgent demand for responsive, equity-minded pedagogy. By utilizing a high-engagement, multi-sensory cooking curriculum, this unit directly serves Rudder’s diverse population by removing language barriers, contextualizing abstract concepts for specialized learners, and providing immediate, tactile feedback that traditional worksheets fail to offer. Anchoring mathematical instruction in practical contexts offers a dual advantage for learners with disabilities or significant academic gaps. By connecting structural concepts to tangible, real-world experiences, students achieve greater long-term retention. Furthermore, these learners demonstrate superior performance on standard abstract assessments compared to peers utilizing traditional, worksheet-based methods.[3]
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