Journal of the Mathematics Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association
Volume 34 Issue 1, May 1997
17 – 21
Connecting Literature, Language, and Fractions
Betty Conaway and Ruby Bostick Midkiff
Because of the symbolic nature of fractions and the procedural operations required to manipulate fractions mathematically, the concept is often difficult for students in early grades to master (Van de Walle 1990). Perhaps this difficulty results in part from the numeral contradictions presented by fractions. Furthermore, fractions are part of a mathematical language that is often foreign to students until they develop a personal understanding.
