Rates and Ratios Intro

Happy New Year!  I had all of these great plans to write lots of posts over winter break, but that obviously didn't happen (as I bet most of you would have figured).  It was very restful and much needed - especially the trip back to the States to be with family for the holidays. (Not to mention I got to go shopping in stores where the clothes fit! Japan is full of petite women, and at 5'9" I just don't fit that category.) 

Anyways, I managed to time it this year so we finished a chapter right before break and started a new chapter yesterday (our first day back) - Ratios and Rates.  I came up with a really cute idea for our intro to this (or at least I think it's cute) for our math notebooks. 

We cut out three similar ovals from different colored paper (I preprinted the ovals onto the paper) and then glued them down into our notebook so they were on top of each other.  On the largest oval we wrote ratios, the definition, how you can represent it and some examples.  Then, on the next oval we wrote rates (since a rate is a type of ratio it fits within the first oval), the definitition and an example.  On the third oval we wrote unit rates (since that is a type of rate and therefore ratio, it fits within the other two ovals), the definition and an example. 

This was a really quick, easy and colorful addition to our notebooks that gives students a visual representation of how the three relate to each other.  Last year I had a lot of students who thought rates and ratios were two completely different things - so I'm hoping this will help clear up that misconception.

Does anyone else have any cool ideas they want to share about ratios and rates?

~Brittany~