FractionsWhat is part of a whole?

Goal: To present a mathematical concept that is challenging in a way that supports students’ understanding.

Topic: Fractions 

Message: Fraction is a mathematical terms that expresses part of a whole and sometimes fractions that are the same are expressed in two different ways (equivalent fractions).

 Audience: 4th/5th grade students

This is my original design. I found some great pictures online that I thought would really grab my audience’s attention. I also created a question to keep the audience interested.

First set of changes

I thought about how I could tell a story with the pictures, so I took pictures of a whole orange, in ways that looked like the fractions.

So, I changed from using pictures that were from the internet (beautiful, but not as relevant) to pictures that really showed what I was doing.

I also added some captions that explain and two captions with questions to keep the readers searching for answers.

I also tried to add some different words to support understanding of the jargon.

I made quite a few changes in the weeks between the last slide and this one. I started by taking out the boarder that offered no value to the slide message (embellishment). I also took the time/date stamp off of the photographs.

I added a bold title and a line to give contrast between the slide and the title.

I also added a subheading in bold to draw the eyes to the question. I do think that this improved the design because it does draw the eyes to the title and subheading.

I changed the alignment from horizontal to vertical; however, I failed to keep it aligned between top and bottom and throughout the graphics.

Next set of changes

This is the split complement triad design. I really liked the way the colors worked together.

I did use the thicker font and I changed the font for the question and I think it looks better.

There is a good use of white space. I think that this design is an improvement. The colors are bright and have nice contrast.

The alignment is better (not perfect) in this design. I did a right alignment and made sure all of the pictures were aligned. However, I didn’t align the text with the pictures so there is still some continuity issues.

Next set of changes

On this slide I used size to create contrast. Not only the size of the title and the last caption, but also the size of the word question in the text.

I also used text with different forms, the letter “g” shows the contrast the best between the two fonts. I made sure to choose two very different fonts, a modern and a decorative font.

I tried to work out all the alignment issues (I had alignment issues for many of my pieces).

I also added the drop shadow to my pictures and put the lighter color at the top of the slide. I like the changes to this slide, it feel bold and makes a statement. It works well with the theme.

Final set of changes