Film and education; a symposium on the role of the film in the field of education ([1948])

APPLICATIONS OF THE FILM IN MATHEMATICS above the frame 3 12. Narrator says, "When we divide 12 into 3 equal parts, one of the equal parts is 4." The 3 trays each containing 4 circles may reappear again. Under each one appears the designation 1/3 of 12 =z 4. Narrator says, "When we make 3 equal parts, one part is 1/3, so we can say that 1/3 of 12 = 4. Picturing the two division ideas as suggested above does not exhaust the possibilities of further extending pupils' concept of division. Final remainders require additional experiences. Films can aid greatly in depicting situations in which the remainder can be divided, and it is therefore sensible to express the remainder as a common fraction or a decimal fraction. Other situations can be pictured in which there would be no meaning if the remainder were expressed as a fraction. Teaching Carrying in Addition in Grade 3 The following plan illustrates the teaching of the rational principles which govern number relations and computational procedures (Outcome 2g) . Many pupils fail to understand the mathematical meaning of carrying in addition. Often teachers do not have the objective materials necessary to enable pupils to dramatize the procedure. A film which pictured the idea as the making of new ten-groups whenever this was possible and the combining of the newly formed ten-groups with those given would be helpful. The film could be used to follow basic experiences in the classroom; as a substitute for firsthand experiences; or for review purposes when the process of addition had not been studied for some time. In the following outline for dramatizing carrying in addition, all stages from the use of real money to the symbolic representation have been included. Social situation: Mary had 38 cents in her pocketbook. Her aunt gave her 24 cents. Now Mary wonders whether she [127]