Week 1 of 8
Week 1
5th Grade → 6th Grade · Fractions add unlike and Figurative language
Math
Adding Fractions With Unlike Denominators
Adding fractions with different bottom numbers by first changing them to a common denominator. Fifth grade.
The mistake to watch for. Adding the tops and the bottoms separately, so that 1/2 + 1/3 becomes 2/5. The pieces must be the same size before they can be added.
How to help. Find a number that both bottom numbers go into, such as 6 for 1/2 and 1/3, and rewrite both fractions with it.
A worked example
1/2 + 1/3 = ___. A common denominator is 6. 1/2 = 3/6 and 1/3 = 2/6. Add: 3/6 + 2/6 = 5/6.
All adding fractions with unlike denominators sets, with answer keys →
Reading & language
Figurative Language
Naming the type of comparison or exaggeration a sentence uses — simile, metaphor, personification, or hyperbole. Fifth grade.
The mistake to watch for. Confusing simile and metaphor because both are comparisons — the giveaway is simply whether "like" or "as" is present.
How to help. Teach the one mechanical test first: if the sentence uses "like" or "as," it's a simile; if it states one thing IS another, it's a metaphor. The other types (personification, hyperbole) come after that distinction is automatic.
A worked example
'The snow was a white blanket' says the snow IS a blanket, so it is a metaphor. 'The snow was like a white blanket' uses 'like', so it is a simile.
Words for this week
- fraction
- A number that names equal parts of a whole, like 3/4.
- numerator
- The top number in a fraction. It tells how many parts we mean.
- denominator
- The bottom number in a fraction. It tells how many equal parts the whole is cut into.
- equivalent
- Equal in value. 1/2 and 2/4 are equivalent fractions.
- simplify
- To write a fraction with the smallest numbers that still name the same amount, like 6/12 = 1/2.
- simile
- A way of comparing two things using "like" or "as", such as "as quick as a fox".
- metaphor
- A way of describing something by saying it is something else, like "the snow is a blanket".
- idiom
- A saying that does not mean what the words say, like "it's raining cats and dogs".
- sentence
- A group of words that tells a whole thought. It starts with a capital letter and ends with punctuation.
- language
- The words we use to talk and write.
Read this week
Fossil History
A short animals article from our Learn library, chosen for this reading level. Read it together, then ask your child to tell you one new thing they learned.