Using knitting elastic band as a manipulative

 

It may be hard for some students to realize that there is a relationship between fractions and percentages.  Therefore, it is crucial for a teacher to illustrate that idea in an unforgettable manner. 

Of course, there is more than one technique that can be used in such a situation, but the simpler, the better.  I find that the simplest one would be for a teacher to bring a a whole bunch of knitting elastic bands that are 32 cm long to the class and give students few minutes to figure out how those could be used in Math.  If any student comes up with the idea of elastic meter manipulatives, he/she is asked to demonstrate it to the rest of them.  If not, the teacher illustrates the concept by marking a line at 1 cm from one end.  From that point, and with the students' help, he/she marks every 3 cm.  That would make 10 marks in total, with 1 cm being left at the end.    The teacher should make it clear that the two extra centimeters are left out only to provide a better way to hold and stretch the elastic meter.  Next, the teacher labels the marks starting at 10% at the first mark, and ending at 100%.  The other face of the elastic can now be designed by marking and labeling the most used fractions (i.e. 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, etc.).  By doing so, the students will be able to see the relationship by flipping the elastic band back and forth.  Some word problems or simple activities can also be done to make sure all students are confident with this concept.

I believe that it's important that we introduce to the students an item that is used in everyday's life as a manipulative, because that will simplify matters greatly for them.