Terminator

Curriculum Goal

Describe relationships and show equivalences among fractions and decimal numbers, using appropriate tools and drawings, in various contexts.

Students work in pairs, either in class or on a video conference chat.
Students should have experience creating factor trees for one- and two-digit numbers and should know when the factors of a number are twos, fives, or both.

In-person version

One standard 52-card deck, with tens and face cards removed (Aces equal zero, and two to nine are face value)
Two rectangular bars to separate numerators and denominators
Scrap paper
Pencil

Online version

Deal each student four cards from a shuffled deck.
Students use their cards to create a fraction that has a terminating decimal. Students will use scrap paper to determine if the denominator they have created has a prime factorization that includes only twos, fives, or both, which would make it a terminating decimal.
Students can also decide to “discard” up to two of their cards, keeping cards that make a terminating fraction.
After students have created a terminating fraction, or declared it is not possible, their score will be tallied up.
Students receive one point for making a terminating fraction, two points for making a terminating fraction that uses all four of their cards, and zero points if no terminating fraction can be made.
Discard or re-shuffle the used cards back into the deck.
The first player to reach ten points wins the game.
If students are having difficulty, consider having students play in teams, encouraging collaboration in creating a terminating fraction.

Do students understand what terminating fractions are?
Are students correctly creating factor trees to determine if their fraction is terminating?
Are students recalling the prime factors of numbers and showing fluency when creating terminating fractions?

Require students to use all cards in creating a terminating fraction. This will encourage students to practice making terminating fractions using tenths.
Deal additional cards to each student each round (e.g., six cards). This will allow students the opportunity to practice creating terminating fractions using hundredths.

Created by Megan Strudiner. Adapted by The Robertson Program.