I created these printable templates to use with my own students as we practiced adding and subtracting unlike fractions with my favorite strategy – fraction lists! I hope your students love this strategy as much as mine do!
To use the Fraction List Strategy, start by writing out each of the two fractions from the problem with a space to the right of them. Use that space to record a list of equivalent fractions to the original fraction by multiplying the top and the bottom of the fraction by the same number. I like to start with times 2, then 3, then 4, then 5. Repeat with the second fraction. Looking at your lists, identify a fraction from each list that have the same denominator, remembering that the original fractions are still a part of the list! I have my students circle these fractions. Then, we rewrite the original problem using our new fractions and TA-DA! You now have a problem that means the same thing, but is so much easier to solve.