Identifying Fractions on Number Lines

This study investigated the ways students represented fractions on number lines and the effects of instruction on those representations. Two clinical teaching experiments and one large-group teaching experiment were conducted with fourth and fifth graders ( N = 5, 8, and 30) The instruction primarily concerned representing fractions and ordering fractions on number lines. Tests and videotaped interviews indicated that unpartitioning, in particular, is difficult for students, although the instruction seemed to help. Associating symbols with representations also seems difficult and may depend on an understanding of the unpartitioning process.