Teacher Resource Room

Graphing Fractions Using Spreadsheets

Goal/Objective:

Students will be able to visualize and understand the size and relative proportions of fractions.

Description:

Students type in sets of fractions that add up to a whole. Then they graph each set of fractions as a circle graph.

Materials:

Procedure:

  1. Preferrably, students identify sets of fractions that add up to one in class beforehand..
  2. Students sit down at a computer with the sets of fractions in hand.
  3. See "Spreadsheets and Graphing: A Simple How-To" for directions on how to open Microsoft Works, enter fractions, graph and print the graph.
  4. Students type in the fraction itself and the name of the fraction above it. When they have entered a set of fractions that add up to one, they select the whole set and graph it.