NLVM Fractions Comparing

The virtual manipulative I chose for this week is listed under Grades 6-8 Number and Operations. For students who have a difficult time understanding common denominators and comparing fractions without a common denominator, this is a wonderful tool. The second component to this manipulative gives students a sense of where the particular fraction falls on a number line when compared with another (for example comparing 1/2 to 5/11). Some students may have initial difficulty understanding which is greater without use of a common denominator, but the number line serves as another way of visually seeing where the respective fractions fall.