Ratio and Percent

Strand: Number
Outcomes: 5 and 6

Step 5: Follow-up on Assessment

Guiding Questions

What conclusions can be made from assessment information?
How effective have instructional approaches been?
What are the next steps in instruction?

A. Addressing Gaps in Learning

Students who have difficulty solving the basic facts using strategies will enjoy more success if one-on-one time is provided in which there is open communication to diagnose where the learning difficulties lie. Assessment by observing a student solving problems will provide valuable data to guide further instruction. Success in problem solving depends on a positive climate in which the students are confident in taking risks. By building on the existing understandings of each student and accommodating the individual learning styles, success will follow.

If the difficulty lies in solving the basic facts, use the following strategies:

Draw on the prior knowledge of students, spending time to review proper fractions as part of a region and part of a set. Review the meaning of fractions and how the numerator relates to the part and the denominator to the whole.
Emphasize the similarities and differences between part of a region and part of a set.
Provide everyday problem-solving contexts that students can relate to.
Use a variety of concrete materials such as counters, fraction strips, fraction circles, 11 × 11 geoboards and pattern blocks. Connect the concrete to diagrams and symbols as students develop understanding of ratio and percent.
Allow students to use concrete materials, as long as necessary, to establish an understanding of the concepts.
Review equivalent fractions by connecting concrete, pictorial and symbolic representations. Connect equivalent fractions to equivalent ratios.
Explain the similarities and differences between comparisons using subtraction and comparisons using multiplication. Emphasize that ratios use multiplication in comparing two quantities.
Provide examples of part-to-part ratios as well as part-to-whole ratios.
Connect part-to-whole ratios to fractions and to percent.
Encourage students to integrate patterns with ratios and use a ratio table to illustrate equivalent ratios in solving problems.
Ask guiding questions to direct student thinking. See the examples provided in Step 4, Part B: One-on-one Assessment (p. 42).
Provide time for students to explore and construct their own meaning rather than being told.
Encourage flexibility in thinking as students describe various ways to solve ratio and percent problems.
Have students share their thinking with others so that students, who are having difficulty, hear (in 'kid' language) how another person thinks about ratio and percent.

B. Reinforcing and Extending Learning

Strategies for Reinforcing and Extending Learning Word