CECmath.52


TITLE:  Fraction Conversion Bingo

AUTHOR:  Mike Wales, Lookout Mountain Youth Services
         Center; Golden, Colorado
GRADE LEVEL:  8th; Fractions/ Decimal/ Percent Equivalent

PURPOSE:  The purpose of this lesson is to reinforce
previous math lessons involving the relationships between
fractions, decimals, and percents.  This is a culminating
activity, following a four week unit on each number system.
I have used this lesson successfully at the sixth grade
level.  It can be easily modified up or down to accommodate
other grade levels.

MATERIALS:  I constructed grids on tag board that included
five rows and five columns.  As on a regular bingo card, the
middle square is designated as "free".  The remaining
squares have a random selection of either fractions,
decimals, or percents.  The instructor-designed components
allow the teacher to focus on one element of study, or all
three.  The cards turned over by the instructor are
correspondingly designed to match the player's cards.
Students also will need markers to cover their boards as
they match numbers or equivalents.  Finally, perhaps most
importantly, incentives or prizes are needed for the
winners.

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
All students participating need at least one game card.  The
instructor, or student host, turns over one playing card at
a time, announcing what is written on the card to the
players.  The instructor should keep a record of what cards
have been revealed so as to aid checking of equivalent
values, and to authenticate winners.  Players cover the
quantity announced, or its equivalent, with a marker.  When
a player has five in a row covered, he calls "BINGO" and
upon substantiation, is awarded a prize for his efforts.
The teacher determines the difficulty of this game by
regulating the amount of student computation required to
generate equivalents.  The fewer conversions from one number
system to another, the easier the game.