Khan Academy

Khan Academy

Before I discuss specifically which part of this program I used towards a particular TEK, I think it’s important that I explain what the Khan Academy is.  The Khan Academy is a completely free website program that you can sign up for as a teacher or a student.  If you register yourself as a teacher, you are able to invite your students into you “classroom” and track their progress on the program.  The Khan Academy is suitable 3rd grade and all ages after.  I even have friends that have used it for their own benefit in classes at other Universities.  The Khan Academy provides videos on ALL subject areas and topics: almost any topic you can think of.  There are also “skills” that can be mastered through a series of tasks, or, as they refer to them, “missions.”  The Khan Academy is a really great resource that provides access to all sorts of education for your students and tools for you to use as a teacher.

Specific Use-

Grade: 3rd

Content: Math

TEK:

§111.15. Mathematics, Grade 3.

(b) Knowledge and skills.

(3.2) Number, operation, and quantitative reasoning. The student uses fraction names and symbols (with denominators of 12 or less) to describe fractional parts of whole objects or sets of objects. The student is expected to:

(A) construct concrete models of fractions;

(C) use fraction names and symbols to describe fractional parts of whole objects or sets of objects;
Link: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-third-grade-math/cc-3rd-fractions-topic/cc-3rd-fractions-meaning/v/fraction-basics

Summary:

This video link on Khan Academy is the very basics of fractions.  The video starts by explaining what a fraction is and giving a visual representation of it.  It starts with a whole square, breaks it into four pieces, shades in a single piece, and writes down that the piece is 1/4 of the whole, explaining the process and reasoning throughout each step.  Something I really love about the video is that it provides the teacher, or student, with the opportunity to pause and work a couple of the fractions themselves.

Instructional Use Suggestion:

I will absolutely be using the Khan Academy in my classroom to introduce or explore concepts and also for students to participate in independent work.  For this specific video though, I would use it to introduce the concept of fractions.  We would watch the video together, and when it instructs us to pause, I would have the students write in their math journal what they believe the fraction shown is and write a sentence or two about how they came up with that answer and why they believe it is correct.  I will want them to label what their numbers represent. (I.e. the top number could be labeled as “shaded area, part, etc.” and the bottom number should be labeled “whole, entire square, etc.”)  After the video we could lead into more activities to expand and practice fractions.  I think the videos on this website are a great way to clear the understanding of a confused child or introduce new skills to students.