Fractions Sequence

I've been round and round with fractions for two years now and I've found that it's really important to have a good sequence for teaching fractions. When they get to 5th grade there are so many things about fractions they learn, it's hard to put things in order. Here's the best system I've come up with so far (in order):

Writing Fractions- If you teach mainstream, you may skip this. If you teach Special Ed. or the lower grades it's important to start with this. You may think they could look at a pizza cut into 6ths with two pieces missing and be able to write a fraction but you would be surprised! Teach the basic stuff. Give them plenty of practice. Give them a packet of examples and ask them to write the fraction. Talk about numerator and denominator. Go over vocabulary you might think is basic (this year I had to explicitly teach shaded and unshaded!). Teach all 3 types of fractions including whole (most textbooks call it a region), set (groups of like items), and segment (number line). Glance through my fractions posts to give you some awesome ideas!

Mixed Numbers & Improper Fractions- Again, give them LOTS of practice. Allow them to practice the basic skill of seeing a picture and writing both a mixed number and an improper fraction over and over before giving them test style questions.

Fractions & Decimals- Awesome resources to come! It's important at this point to circle back to the previously learned fraction skills.

Equivalent Fractions- Saved the hardest for last!

I hope this helps. Awesome resources to come!