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Super FRIO (inequality)

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Materials: Deck of Fraction Bars per group or pair of people

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Illustrate Super FRIO by placing the following transparent bars on the overhead. In this game each player is dealt five bars which they place in increasing order. Then each player in turn selects an arbitrary bar and replaces one of their five bars with the goal of obtaining five bars that increase by one part out of 12.

Ask for suggestions as to what strategies might be followed to try to change the above bars for a winning game. For example, one strategy is to select from the yellow bars to try to replace the whole bar by the bar for 2/3. As each group plays this game, make a note of one or two sets of bars to be used for a class discussion of possible strategies, once the game is over. Ask which of the seven major concepts are being used in this game. Point out that this game can be played with the bars or with the fraction playing cards as illustrated in the student’s paper below.

Student Writing Project - Super FRIO Strategies

Place the following fifth grade student’s writing project on the overhead. It is a good example of the type of reasoning that can be expected from some fifth grade students. Read through some of the highlights of this paper, and read the teachers comments at the end.