Big Ideas in Number

Partitioning
Best Advice Paper
 Acknowledgements

This professional learning is based on research

from:
• Within Australia and around the world
• Di Siemon, Professor of Mathematics
Education at RMIT University (Victoria)

3
 Learning Intention

Deepen teacher understanding and

knowledge in Trusting the Count
and
the BIG ideas that underpin all number
learning
 Partitioning
In an analysis of commonly encountered texts, that is, texts
that at least one member of a household might need to, want
to, or have to deal with on a daily, weekly, monthly or annual
basis, approximately 90% were identified as requiring some
degree of quantitative and/or spatial reasoning. Of these texts,
the mathematical knowledge most commonly required was
some understanding of rational number and proportional
reasoning, that is, fractions, decimals, percent, ratio and
proportion.
An ability to deal with a wide range of texts requires more than
literacy - it requires a genuine understanding of key
underpinning ideas and a capacity to read, interpret and use a
variety of symbolic, spatial and quantitative texts.
Di Siemon, June 2002
The Numeracy Continuum

www.acleadersresource.sa.edu.au
 What skills do students need to
solve this task?

https://acaraweb.blob.core.windows.net/resources/200808_NAPLAN_2008_
Final_Test_Numeracy_year_7_non_calculator.pdf
 Teacher Practice
Effective practice that leads to higher student achievement
includes:

• Opportunities for student conversations with one another

about their mathematical ideas
• Teaching based on students’ ways of thinking (research)
• Students engaged in problem solving
• Opportunities for students to construct underlying links
between mathematical concepts and symbolic
representation
(Fenema et al, 1996; Gearhart et al, 1999, in A Research Companion)

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Trusting the Count • Subitising
Countable Unit: Ones • Principles of counting
• Part part whole relationships

Place Value • New unit – 10 ones is 1 ten

Countable Unit: Tens • Number names regular, irregular
• Counting with new unit
• Second place value system

Additive to • Concepts and strategies for

Multiplicative thinking addition/subtraction
Countable Unit: Whole numbers • Factors, arrays, area models, Cartesian
products, mental strategies

Partitioning Proportional reasoning • Fractions – concepts, naming,

Countable Unit: Countable Unit: recording
Rational numbers Rational numbers • Decimal fractions
• Relative proportions

Generalising • Recognising patterns

Countable Unit: An unknown/variable • Modelling, predicting
• Expressing general case in
words and symbols
Partitioning in the Australian Curriculum
Mathematics
 Partitioning is

Physically dividing wholes or number lines into

equal parts
 Partitioning in data
Relationship between money
made from the sale of fake
products, drugs and their
relationship to organised crime

The number of deaths

related to not wearing
seat belts and to vehicle
type

The number of people who believe that

the flu vaccine will give them the flu
 Partitioning is many things
• part of a whole partitioned into equal parts
• a rational number
• part of more than a whole
• A Fraction: a proper fraction, a common fraction a
decimal fraction, a mixed fraction an improper fraction
• A percentage
• Ratio

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 The Fourth Big Idea
Partitioning
involves:
•Equal parts
•Fraction naming
•Fraction making
•Fraction recording
•Decimal fraction naming and recording
•Comparing and ordering
•Rational Number Sequencing
 Equal Parts?
What understandings are
we looking for?

Colour 2 fifths

What strategies
might be used?
What distractions
or conflicts exist?
 Fraction Naming
No. of parts Name
Ordinal Names
1 whole
Halving 2 halves
family 3 thirds
4 quarters (fourths)

Thirding 5 fifths
family 6 sixths
8 eighths
9 ninths
10 tenths
12 twelfths
15 fifteenths
 Renaming Fractions using a
Fraction Wall

Students name their move e.g. I rolled 3/8 so I used 1 quarter and 1 eighth
 Naming and Renaming

3 Compare
3 and
1
4 Paper folding 8 3
 Fraction making
Discrete models Continuous Models

Discrete models are

Continuous models are
collections of wholes
infinitely divisible
– if the recipe uses 6 eggs - if we cut this pizza like this
what fraction of eggs is left? how much does everyone get?
-
 Fraction making
Explore partitioning through drawing, cutting
.… and sharing activities using a range of materials
paper streamers
plasticene rolls and
icy-pole sticks
rope and pegs

paper
paper squares food
geoboards
 Fraction recording

Numerator

2 fifths 2 2
out of
5 5
This number tells This number tells
how many how many
This names the parts & tells Denominator
The out of idea only works for proper how much
This names the parts & tells
(the size of the how
fractions, not for improper fractions part) much
such as 10 out of 3, but 10 thirds
does make sense (the size of the part)
Fraction recording

Fold the paper in half –

Unfold
Record the fractions on each side
Refold and fold again
Use another colour to record the fraction
Fold one more time and record the fraction in
another colour
 Fraction recording

1 third eighths
3
Decimal fraction naming and
recording
6
10
Can you think of another way
6
10 Or 0.6
Decimal naming and recording
.Introduce the new place value part
Partition 1 one into 10 equal parts - tenths

ones tenths
Tenths can also be partitioned
using paper folding 1⚫8
Decimal point
first halving then fifthing - separates the
8
whole and
1 and 8 tenths 18 tenths 1
10
fractional parts

0 1.0
2.0 1.8
 Comparing and ordering
Write a decimal onto a piece of paper. It must be greater
than
0 and less than 2 and have no
more than 3 decimal places.
As a table order your decimals.
What did you have to think about? 1.5
½
Were there any problems? Why?
4/3
0.25 120%

Highest to lowest, range,

number lines
Rational Number Sequencing
How can you support students to order the following
from smallest to largest

1) 5.45 5.346 5.6

2) 0.52 0.683 0.4

3) 0.612 0.126 0.216

 Make, name and record to support
partitioning
Make
Materials
Partition real-world objects,
collections, numbers, stories
Building
Understanding
Perceptual
Learning Record
Name
Language read, say, write recognise, read, write
Symbols
2 out of 5 equal parts, 2 fifths, 4 tenths, 45 1
40 hundredths, 45 percent 100 6.56 2

30
 Partitioning Ideas

The significance Relationship between the

number of parts/ or shares
of equal parts. and the name of the parts. http://gomestic.com/do-it-yourself/
molding-shapes-that-make-you-say-
whoa-1/
Sequencing
Fraction representations
And fraction recording
Comparing and ordering

Decimal fraction
naming and recording
Diagnostic Tools
 What do they do
and how do they
do it? Not just the right answer but what strategies
were used to get the answer.

Learning
Advice Activities

A group of
Provides an interpretation of interventions/strategies that
the strategy and advice based can be used to support student
on that strategy learning
Choose one of the diagnostic Diagnostic Tools

tools
6.1 Equal parts
6.2 Fraction naming
6.3 Fraction making
6.4 Fraction recording
6.5 Decimal fraction naming and recording
6.6 Comparing and ordering
6.7 Rational Number Sequencing
Work with a partner to trial administering this tool,
unpack the way that you solved the problem and think
about the ways that students in your class might solve
the same problem.
 Compare Order - Sequence
Which is larger, which is smaller, why? Highest to lowest, range,
2 number lines
1
8 1.6 6.25
4 5
Consolidating
Partitioning
ideas

Rename Count forwards &

In as many different ways as backwards
possible. ½, 1, 1 ½, 2, 2 ½, 3
Number expanders, equal
fractions, 26 tenths is 2.6 2.65, 2.64, 2.63, 2.62