Rational Numbers and Square Roots

Strand: Number
Outcomes: 3, 4, 5 and 6

Step 3: Plan for Instruction

Guiding Questions

What learning opportunities and experiences should I provide to promote learning of the outcomes and permit students to demonstrate their learning?
What teaching strategies and resources should I use?
How will I meet the diverse learning needs of my students?

A. Assessing Prior Knowledge and Skills

Before introducing new material, consider ways to assess and build on students' knowledge and skills related to representing operations with integers, writing and modelling algebraic expressions and substitution for a variable in an algebraic expression outlined in earlier grades.

Ways to Assess and Build on Prior Knowledge and Skills

B. Choosing Instructional Strategies

Consider the following guidelines for teaching rational numbers and square roots:

Build on students' understanding of integer, decimal and fraction computation.
Provide a variety of hands-on activities using manipulatives, such integer tiles, 1-cm grid paper and cards, to represent positive and negatives.
Provide opportunities for students to work with various strategies to estimate and calculate rational numbers.
Provide opportunities for students to develop number sense by choosing activities that allow them to practise rational number computation.
Build on students' understanding of perfect squares and square roots to develop their understanding of perfect squares of positive rational numbers and approximating square roots of positive rational numbers that are not perfect squares.

C. Choosing Learning Activities

Learning Activities are examples of activities that could be used to develop student understanding of the concepts identified in Step 1.

Sample Learning Activities
Exploring Rational Numbers	Download Activities
Comparing and Ordering Rational Numbers	Download Activities
Numbers In-between	Download Activities
Adding and Subtracting Rational Numbers	Download Activities
What's the Pattern?	Download Activities
Multiplying Rational Numbers	Download Activities
Dividing Rational Numbers	Download Activities
Rationals—Two-ways	Download Activities
Where's the Error?	Download Activities
Order of Operations and Magic Squares	Download Activities
Perfect Squares	Download Activities
Perfect Squares—How Many Ways?	Download Activities