Cooking Up Fractions Series

MaryAnn Karre, Horace Mann Elementary School, Binghamton, NY -- School Library Journal, 9/4/2008

Cooking Up Fractions Series. video or DVD. 44 min. (closed captioned). with tchr’s. guide, worksheets. Prod. by LearningWave Communications. Dist. by Human Relations Media (hrmvideo.com). 2007. ISBN 978-1-55548-228-2. $149.95.

Gr 3-5–Join Chef J, and actor, and Master Chef Soufflé, a puppet, as they teach addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of fractions while cooking up some tasty treats with their young guest host, Carlos. As they cook, they demonstrate how fractions can be used to solve everyday problems. While making pizza, the lesson focuses on addition and subtraction of fractions; multiplication and division of fractions with common and different denominators are taught while making trail mix; and operations involving mixed numbers are introduced as Chef Soufflé makes a quiche. When Soufflé trips and spills some of the mushrooms that were set aside for the veggie pizza, the lesson focuses on subtracting fractions with like denominators to see how many vegetables are left for the pizza. Each lessons builds upon the previous one. In each lesson, the chefs take time out for a “Blender Mindbender” in which a problem is presented and a brief time-out is taken to allow students to respond. “Tasty Tidbits” are brief facts that are presented along the way. Blending humor, fun, and math facts, this program provides an excellent introduction to or review of fractions and their properties.