Activity:
Proper Proportions
Equivalent fractions can be a difficult concept to master and this card game provides a fun way to practice an important math skill. All you need is a deck of playing cards, paper and pencils, and you're ready to get started! While playing you'll try to create two equivalent fractions, also known as a proportion, out of your four card hand. With every correct proportion, your fraction master will earn a point! Play this game competitively with multiple players, or play as a team and have players help arrange the cards.
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What You Need:
- Deck of cards with the face cards (jack, queens and kings) removed
- Paper, one sheet per player
- Pencil, one per player
What You Do:
- For the purposes of the game aces = 1.
- Have one of the players to shuffle the deck of cards and deal four cards to each player. The remaining cards should placed face down in the center of the table.
- Ask the players to take their pieces of paper and draw two fraction bars side by side with an equals sign in between them. Each player will draw this on his own sheet of paper.
- Players take turns drawing a card from the deck and discarding one from their hand.
- Each time a player finds a proportion in his hand, he should call out "Prop!" Then, they lay his cards on their paper in the proper places to make a true proportion statement.
- For each correct answer, players earn a point.
- Each time a player wins a point, all players should discard their cards, the deck should be shuffled and everyone should be dealt new hand of four cards.
- Continue playing until the deck is depleted.
- To make the game more challenging, include the face cards and assign to them whatever values the players or teams agree upon.
