Number Lines

In math class the other week, my class did an activity that I really think helped my students understand converting fractions and decimals as well as placing them in order from least to greatest.

I cannot take credit for this idea because it came from our math book, but although it was very simple, my students enjoyed it.

My students were placed in groups and given a long piece of duct tape. They had to label the tape from -2 to 2 and count by halves. They were given several problems with about 5 decimals and fractions in each problem. Students had to convert the numbers into fractions or decimals to make it easy to place them in order from least to greatest. After they did the math, they had to physically show me on their number line the order that they would be in. They did a great job!