1. Teacher Guide
This lesson is designed to teach kids to ask a critical thinking question that you can’t just put into a search box to solve. To do that, we encourage them with smaller questions that search can help them answer. Make sure that you read the notes for each slide: they not only give you teaching tips but also provide answers and hints so you can help the kids if they are having trouble.
Remember, you can always send feedback to the Bing in the Classroom team at You can learn more about the program at bing.com/classroom and follow the daily lessons on our Partners In Learning site.
Want to extend today’s lesson? Consider using Skype in the Classroom to arrange for your class to chat with another class in today’s location. And if you are using Windows 8, you can also use the Bing apps to learn more about this location and topic; the Travel and News apps in particular make great teaching tools.
Nell Bang-Jensen is a teacher and theater artist living in Philadelphia, PA. Her passion for arts education has led her to a variety of roles including developing curriculum for Philadelphia Young Playwrights and teaching at numerous theaters and schools around the city. She works with playwrights from ages four to ninety on developing new work and is especially interested in alternative literacies and theater for social change. A graduate of Swarthmore College, she currently works in the Artistic Department of the Wilma Theater and, in addition to teaching, is a freelance actor and dramaturg. In 2011, Nell was named a Thomas J. Watson Fellow and spent her fellowship year traveling to seven countries studying how people get their names.
This lesson is designed to teach the Common Core State Standard: Number & Operations-Fractions
CCSS.Math.Content.4.NF.B.4.a Understand a fraction a/b as a multiple of 1/b. For example, use a visual fraction model to represent 5/4 as the product 5 × (1/4), recording the conclusion by the equation 5/4 = 5 × (1/4).
CCSS.Math.Content.3.NF.A.3.c Express whole numbers as fractions, and recognize fractions that are equivalent to whole numbers. Examples: Express 3 in the form 3 = 3/1; recognize that 6/1 = 6; locate 4/4 and 1 at the same point of a number line diagram.
CCSS.Math.Content.3.NF.A.3 Explain equivalence of fractions in special cases, and compare fractions by reasoning about their size.
CCSS.Math.Content.3.NF.A.1 Understand a fraction 1/b as the quantity formed by 1 part when a whole is partitioned into b equal parts; understand a fraction a/b as the quantity formed by a parts of size 1/b.

2. What fraction of the island Majorca is Minorca equivalent to?
© Marcos Molina/Alamy
Having this up as kids come in is a great settle down activity. You can start class by asking them for thoughts about the picture or about ideas on how they could solve the question of the day.

3. What fraction of the island Majorca is Minorca equivalent to?
Cap de Formentor pulls many visitors away from the beautiful beaches of Majorca. The highest point of Formentor boasts a lookout stop that provides incredible views of the cliffs, coves, and the sea beyond.
The largest of the Balearic Islands off the east coast of Spain, Majorca (meaning the “larger one”) is roughly five times the size of the next largest island in the archipelago, Minorca (the “smaller one”). Combining glamorous beaches with stunning natural beauty, Majorca has become a premier tourist destination.
Depending on time, you can either have students read this silently to themselves, have one of them read out loud, or read it out loud yourself.

4. What fraction of the island Majorca is Minorca equivalent to?1
Thinking/
Web Search
What does “equivalent” mean? Can you give an example of two fractions that are equivalent to each other? 2
We know that Majorca is roughly five times the size of Minorca. How could we express this as an equation? 3
If Majorca was 5 square miles, how big would Minorca be? What if Majorca was 10 square miles? 100 square miles? 4
What are the exact sizes of each island? How could you use these numbers to create a fraction that shows what part of Majorca Minorca would cover? 5
Find an online resource that allows you to compare visual representations of fractions. Knowing that Majorca is roughly five times the size of Minorca, use these visual models to find an estimate of what fraction of Majorca Minorca would cover.
There are a couple of ways to use this slide, depending on how much technology you have in your classroom. You can have students find answers on their own, divide them into teams to have them do all the questions competitively, or have each team find the answer to a different question and then come back together. If you’re doing teams, it is often wise to assign them roles (one person typing, one person who is in charge of sharing back the answer, etc.)

5. What fraction of the island Majorca is Minorca equivalent to?5
Minutes
You can adjust this based on how much time you want to give kids. If a group isn’t able to answer in 5 minutes, you can give them the opportunity to update at the end of class or extend time.

6. What fraction of the island Majorca is Minorca equivalent to?1
Thinking/
Web Search
What does “equivalent” mean? Can you give an example of two fractions that are equivalent to each other? 2
We know that Majorca is roughly five times the size of Minorca. How could we express this as an equation? 3
If Majorca was 5 square miles, how big would Minorca be? What if Majorca was 10 square miles? 100 square miles? 4
What are the exact sizes of each island? How could you use these numbers to create a fraction that shows what part of Majorca Minorca would cover? 5
Find an online resource that allows you to compare visual representations of fractions. Knowing that Majorca is roughly five times the size of Minorca, use these visual models to find an estimate of what fraction of Majorca Minorca would cover.
You can ask the students verbally or let one of them come up and insert the answer or show how they got it. This way, you also have a record that you can keep as a class and share with parents, others.

7. What fraction of the island Majorca is Minorca equivalent to?1
Thinking/Web Search
What does “equivalent” mean? Can you give an example of two fractions that are equivalent to each other?
(Possible queries: “definition: equivalent”, “what does equivalent mean?”, “what are equivalent fractions”, “examples of equivalent fractions”).
From
Equivalent means “the same.” Equivalent Fractions have the same value, even though they may look different. These fractions are really the same:
½ = 2/4 = 4/8
Why are they the same? Because when you multiply or divide both the top and bottom by the same number, the fraction keeps its value.
The rule to remember is: "Change the bottom using multiply or divide, And the same to the top must be applied“.
Depending on age and ability, students can search for equivalent fractions (like in the example given here) or generate their own. They should understand that the islands of Minorca and Majorca are not equivalent in size—the question is asking what fraction of Majorca the entire island of Minorca would be equal to. In this case, Majorca represents the whole.

8. What fraction of the island Majorca is Minorca equivalent to?2
Thinking/Web Search
We know that Majorca is roughly five times the size of Minorca. How could we express this as an equation?
(Possible queries: “for kids, converting word problems to equations”, “kids math, how to write an equation comparing sizes”).
Students should think about how to represent what “five times” is mathematically. They can search for online resources to help them. They should ultimately conclude that the term “times” indicates multiplication. Upon hearing that Majorca is roughly “five times” the size of Minorca, we learn that you could multiply the size of Minorca by 5 and it would be (roughly) equal to the size of Majorca. Therefore, an equation that expresses this would look something like this:
Size of Majorca = 5 x Size of Minorca

9. What fraction of the island Majorca is Minorca equivalent to?3
Thinking/Web Search
If Majorca was 5 square miles, how big would Minorca be? What if Majorca was 10 square miles? 100 square miles?
(Possible queries: “for kids, converting word problems to equations”, “kids math, how to write an equation comparing sizes”).
This is an opportunity for students to start conceptualizing the relationship between the sizes of the two islands using real numbers. We know that Majorca is five times the size of Minorca, so they should translate this into a word problem using the hypothetical numbers. They should recognize that “five times” indicates multiplying by 5. They should set up equations such as the ones below:
5 Square Miles (Size of Majorca) = Size of Minorca x 5
They should then divide the 5 square miles by 5 to solve for the size of Minorca (5/5=1) and conclude that if Majorca was 5 square miles, Minorca would be 1 square mile.
10 Square Miles (Size of Majorca) = Size of Minorca x 5
They should then divide the 10 square miles by 5 to solve for the size of Minorca (10/5=2) and conclude that if Majorca was 10 square miles, Minorca would be 2 square miles.
100 Square Miles (Size of Majorca) = Size of Minorca x 5
They should then divide the 100 square miles by 5 to solve for the size of Minorca (100/5 = 20) and conclude that if Majorca was 100 square miles, Minorca would be 20 square miles.
Based on these hypothetical numbers, students can start to estimate what fraction of Majorca the island of Minorca would take up. They should also recognize that though the sizes of the island are changing, the relationship in size between them is always remaining the same.

10. What fraction of the island Majorca is Minorca equivalent to?4
Thinking/Web Search
What are the exact sizes of each island? How could you use these numbers to create a fraction that shows what part of Majorca Minorca would cover?
(Possible queries: “size of Majorca”, “size of Minorca”).
From and
Majorca is approximately 1,405 square miles. Minorca is approximately 269 square miles. Based on this information, students should begin thinking about how to set up a fraction that looks at Majorca as the total size and Minorca as a fraction of it. They should determine that because Majorca is the larger one (representing the whole) the size of Minorca would be the numerator (the part of the whole). Their fraction should be 269/1,405.

11. What fraction of the island Majorca is Minorca equivalent to?5
Thinking/Web Search
Find an online resource that allows you to compare visual representations of fractions. Knowing that Majorca is roughly five times the size of Minorca, use these visual models to find an estimate of what fraction of Majorca Minorca would cover.
(Possible queries: “visual fractal models online”, “for kids, fractions visual online resource”).
Students should use online resources (such as this website: to find visual representations of different fractions. They should try plugging in different fractions (for example: “1/3, ¾, and 5/8”) to start getting a sense of what these amounts look like as parts of a whole. After finding a visual representation of a fraction, they should ask themselves whether the whole looks like “5 times” the shaded amount. Ask them what fractions they tried plugging in, and what numbers seem to come closest to representing that.

12. What fraction of the island Majorca is Minorca equivalent to?
This slide is a chance to summarize the information from the previous slides to build your final answer to the question. At this point, students should estimate what fraction the size of Minorca would make up of Majorca based on the fact that Majorca is “5 times” the size of Minorca. They should think about how this translates into visual representations and mathematical equations. Based on this work, they should be able to conclude that Minorca is approximately 1/5 the size of Majorca. They can divide the actual sizes of these islands by each other to arrive at this (269/1,405) or solve the equations they’ve created, thinking about how “times” indicates multiplication, and multiplication’s inverse is division.
Size of Majorca = 5 x Size of Minorca
In this case, the size of Majorca is the whole, so it can be said to be 1. Minorca’s size would represent a fraction of that 1. To solve for this, we would divide the whole by 5 (the inverse of multiplying). Therefore, it can be said that the island Minorca is approximately 1/5 the size of Majorca.