Numerators and denominators

Tonight's homework is identifying fractions from a set. Students can choose a group of objects and then remove a number of them, identifying the fraction that was removed or the fraction that is left (or both). The important part of this task will be their skill in identifying what the numerator and the denominator stand for in the fraction. A lot of students might say it is the bigger or smaller number, or may name it as the numerator is the number on top and the denominator is at the bottom, but they need to be able to identify that the denominator represents the number of pieces that make up one whole set or object, and the denominator stands for the number of pieces being discussed. For instance, if we were using a group of 8 tooth picks and I remove 3, I can say I removed 3/8 of the toothpicks. The students should be able to identify the denominator as the 8 toothpicks which made up my whole set, and my numerator as the 3 toothpicks I removed. If it was the fraction left, students should be able to say that the denominator would still be 8, because there were still 8 toothpicks in my whole set, but now the numerator is 5, because the toothpicks we are now discussing are the 5 left behind, so our fraction is now 5/8 left behind. This is something we have been discussing in class, but as we move along in our unit, it will need to be practised to help them.