I use this activity to build understanding with equivalent fractions.Students model equivalent fractions with fraction bar models and number lines.  In both types of models students need to focus on partitioning or ceating equal parts.  They also need to make sure their models are properly labeled.Naming the multiplier or divisor allows students to practice with simplifying or unsimplifying fractions.

This mobile app (available for both iOS and Android devices) was developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics with funding from Verizon Foundation. The app is based on the Decimal Maze from the popular lesson "Too Big or Too Small". The goal is to help Okta reach the target (maximum, minimum, or a specific value) by choosing a path from the top of the maze to the bottom — adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing as the player goes. Seven levels with seven puzzles in each level test the player's skills with operation with powers of ten, negative numbers, fractions, decimals, and exponents.

This instructional guide (PDF) is for the mobile app Pick-a-Path (both iOS and Android platforms). The guide provides professional development by discussing the math in each level of the game, giving suggestions for classroom use, and recommending related resources from Illuminations. The Pick-a-Path app is cataloged separately and listed as a related resource.

This lesson builds on students' work explaining equivalence of fractions in special cases and comparing fractions by reasoning about their size. The task uses area models to demonstrate the equivalence of fractions. This builds toward future work with understanding addition and subtraction of fractions as joining and separating parts referring to the same whole.