Lesson Description:

This is a foundational lesson to build students’ understanding of how to create and interpret a number line beyond basic whole number segments. Students will need this understanding to be able to compare and order rational numbers on the number line, and later, to plot or identify points on the coordinate plane.

This lesson also builds students' conceptual understanding of the relationship between mixed numbers and improper fractions, as the segments on the number line can show how, for example, 7/4 is the same as 1 3/4. Students will discover this through the INM and then reinforce what they learned through a game of Quiz Quiz Trade.

Enduring Understandings:

•To find out how long each segment is on a number line, count how many segments there are between 0 and 1, and that number is the denominator of each segment. The numerator comes from how many segments away from 0 you are. (ex: 1/3, 2/3, 3/3=1)

To plot a number on a number line, locate its whole number first, and then its fraction.