Diagnostic_Interviews

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=**Interview Questions**= > > > >
 * "I am making chili. This recipe calls for 1/2 tablespoon of red pepper, 1/4 tablespoon of cayenne pepper,and 3/4 tablespoon of black pepper. How much pepper will be in the chili?"
 * "My friend John lives 3/8 mile from the Museum of Science. My other friend, Sylvia, lives 1/4 mile from the Museum of Science. How much closer is Sylvia to the museum than John?"
 * "What is one-fourth of a half?"
 * "Mrs. Shepard made fudge and brought 3/8 of a pound to school. If she wants to split that amount equally between me, Mrs. Metcalf, and Mrs. Collins, how much fudge will the three of us get?"
 * "My mom made 7/8 of a quart of hot chocolate. Each mug she has holds 1/8 of a quart of hot chocolate. How many mugs can she fill with the hot chocolate?"

I felt these were questions that could be asked of these students because the 5th grade Standard Course of Study says, "Develop fluency in adding and subtracting non-negative rational numbers (halves, fourths, eighths; thirds, sixths, twelfths; fifths, tenths, hundredths, thousandths; mixed numbers). Develop and analyze strategies for adding and subtracting numbers." These questions deal with halves, fourths, and eighths which students should at least have some familiarity with. Although students have seen addition and subtraction of fractions, they will learn multiplication and division of fractions this year. The last three questions were thrown in to determine students' thinking about and inherent strategies when multiplying and dividing these fractions.