Simplifying Fractions: Step-by-Step with Music

Kevin Barnhart

This energetic animated music video teaches students how to simplify fractions through a catchy rap song. Set in a colorful classroom environment with a recurring teacher character, the video breaks down the mathematical process of simplifying fractions into rhyme, making abstract steps memorable and engaging. It visually demonstrates concepts using both numerical representations and concrete models like pizza slices to show that simplifying a fraction changes its name but not its value. The video covers two distinct methods for simplifying fractions. First, it demonstrates the incremental approach of dividing by small common factors repeatedly until the fraction cannot be reduced further (simplifying 4/8 to 2/4 and then to 1/2). Second, it introduces the concept of the "Greatest Common Factor" (GCF) as a more efficient method, showing how to list factors for the numerator and denominator to find the largest shared number (using 8/12 as an example). Key themes include division, common factors, and mathematical persistence. For educators, this video serves as an excellent hook or review tool for upper elementary students. The duality of showing both the "step-by-step" method and the "GCF" method is particularly valuable for differentiation, allowing students to see that there are multiple paths to the correct answer. The rhythmic nature of the content helps with memory retention of the algorithm: "Find a common factor, numerator, denominator... and don't stop till common factors are no more."