How Do You Say "1/4"?

1/4 to me is "one-quarter" and to most students, it seems to be "one-fourth".
A fifth-grader that I work with made me realize that I say "one-quarter" -- maybe from working on Wall Street. Parents and teachers should keep this in mind ;)


Borrowing with Fractions = Rewriting

Fractions are often seen as having their own rules -- which is true, however, subtracting one mixed number from another involves the concept of 'borrowing'. Because borrowing seems so mechanical, students may not analyze the process. If students see borrowing as 'rewriting', then the mixed fraction rewriting will make more sense. For example, 8 - 3 1/2 -- student will often make a mistake and get an answer of 5 1/2.
If they rewrite the 8 as
7+1
and then again as 7 + 2/2, then can then perform this operation with much greater ease and confidence.