One of the best ways to keep students' attention is with candy. Teachers can use small candies such as M&M's or Reese's Pieces to teach students about fractions and percentages. Give each student six pieces of candy. Write the equation "6/6 = 1" on the board. Tell students that this represents the number of candies they have. It also represents 100 percent of their candy. Tell them to move two pieces to the side. Write the new fraction "2/6" on the board. This number represents two pieces of candy out of the six pieces they have on their desk. To find the percentage, tell students to divide 6 into 2, using a calculator. Move the decimal point over two places and you have the percent. Continue this demonstration with other numbers.
Fraction pieces are plastic pieces that fit together to form a circle, bar or other shape. If you have the circular pieces, you can have your students pretend it's a pizza. One whole pizza is made up of several smaller pieces. Discuss how a whole pizza can be represented by the number 1 or 100 percent. Instruct students to remove three pieces, or slices, of pizza. Have them write a fraction based on the pieces. For example, if the pizza has eight slices and you remove three, the fraction is 3/8. Again have students divide the top number by the bottom number to find the decimal, then move the decimal two places to the right to find the percent.
Flower petals are a creative way to teach fractions and percents. Take the class outside on a sunny day to collect flowers. Have students count the number of petals on one flower. This is the number on the bottom of the fraction, or the denominator. Have students pull a number of petals from the flower. This number is the top part of the fraction, or the numerator. Once they've written several fractions, have the students convert the fractions to percents.
Many children enjoy the challenge of a jigsaw puzzle. Create your own jigsaw puzzle by printing out a color picture of a popular cartoon character. Glue the picture to card stock. Laminate the picture, then cut it into pieces. Discuss how the complete puzzle represents 100 percent or 1 puzzle. Create fractions by counting the total number of puzzle pieces. This number is the denominator. Different numbers of puzzle pieces can become the numerator. Have students create several fractions using the puzzle. They can then convert the fractions to percentages, again using a calculator.