The basics of percentages are usually introduced around ages 8-9, in the late Lower Elementary years. First, children must have extensive experience with fractions and what it means to have parts of a whole. Percentages are comparable to fractions, with the difference that percentage represents the value of a quantity divided into 100 parts. Using 100 parts helps compare data. For instance, with fractions, children must find equivalence to compare values. Using percentages makes it easy to understand how one value compares to another. This skill will come in handy when reading informational texts containing data.
Providing learners with a strong foundation is essential as, in the later years, they will be required to be fluent in converting fractions and decimal numbers to percentage values. One of the tasks performed in the elementary years is to be provided a price and a discount in percentage and come up with the discount as a monetary value. For example, children may calculate the cost of a $30 shirt after a 20% discount. To do this, children must know to convert the percentage value (20%) to a decimal value (0.20) and multiply the initial price with the decimal value (30 x .20). This skill will benefit children as a real-life experience and help further reinforce mathematical mind flexibility. In this post, we would like to share our newly created Montessori-aligned supplemental material on the study of percentages and other related materials to enrich the child’s experience.
Materials
- The Study of Percentage (Task Cards)
- Centesimal Circle & Protractor
- Cut-Out Labeled Fraction Circles (1-10) (optional)
- Fraction Stacker Set (optional)
The Study of Percentages Task Cards
Our set of Task Cards consists of 62 large cards divided into five sections and a large Conversion Chart. The Conversion Chart provides the formulae to convert percentages to fractions, decimals, or fractions to decimals. Each task card contains a written explanation on the back.
Our set of Task Cards consists of 62 large cards divided into five sections and a large Conversion Chart. The Conversion Chart provides the formulae to convert percentages to fractions, decimals, or fractions to decimals. Each task card contains a written explanation on the back.
The first section requires learners to represent a given percentage as a fraction. For example, 10% = 10/100.
The second section requires learners to represent a given fraction as a percentage value. For example, 63/100 is 63%.
The third section is similar to section one; learners must represent a percentage in its decimal form. For example, 35/100 = 0.35. This task is familiar to children who worked with the Decimal Board.
The fourth section prepares learners for section five. Learners must calculate the percentage of a given amount. For example, calculate 10% of 40.
The fifth section offers real-life applications through a variety of words problem. Children convert a percentage value to a fraction or a decimal. They also work with variables, and unknown values represented by a letter.
Finally, learners can use the reproducible Study of Percentages Workbook to consolidate their knowledge. The Workbook is designed to provide repetition in converting a visual into a percentage, fraction, or decimal form.
The Study of Percentages promotes repetition and autonomy for elementary learners growing need for independence. It provides a strong foundation for real-life experience and more advanced math skills encountered in the upper elementary years.
