Teaching Fractions and Analogical Thinking in Early Gradeshool

You can teach your child or student fractions and cross hemispherical analytic and analogical thinking skills by teaching your child fractions at ages 4-6, using Cuisenaire rods which are avialable online for sale at Amazon.com These toy blocks can be used in relation to each other to teach the idea of fractions to children using concrete operations. For example, three smaller blocks will line up against one longer block, showing that one long block is equal to three short blocks, or, in other words, the idea that 3 x 1/3 = 1. Once a child begins to concretely understand what a fraction is, you can then use numerical fractions which have analogical counterparts to teach proportion and analogy. Thus, you can teach that:

1/2 = 2/4 or 1 is to 2 as 2 is to 4 * 1/2 : 2/4

When a child has learned and then memorized the above fractions and ratios, then you can teach the child to solve for a numerator of the second fraction. This also teaching analogical logic or thinking. Thus, you can teach the child the following:

Solve 1/2 = x/4 and 1/2 : x/4

One is to Two as x is to Four

1 is to 2 as x is to 4

1 : 2 @ x : 4


Next, you try other fraction ratios such as:

2/4 = 4/8 * Solve for 2/4 = x/8 * Solve for 2/4 : x/8

Two is to Four as Four is to Eight

2 : 4 as 4 : 8

2 : 4 @ 4 : 8


Again, another fraction ratio:

4/8 = 8/16

Solve for 4/8 = x/16 and 4/8 : x/16

4/8 : 8/16

4 : 8 @ 8 : 16


If your child does the foregoing fraction exercises, then this will help develope his or her analytic and analogical thinking skills, and will also develope cross hemispheric thinking, which cognitively is analytic/intuitive thinking.
(C)Copyright 2010 by Anthony J. Fejfar