One of my classes of students sat an exam lately and I realized they need more practice with adding and subtracting algebraic fractions. There were a collection of misconceptions on the exam, including not taking a common denominator, trying to cross multiply, and cancelling incorrectly. I made a set of cards (split over two files) to use to help practice this tricky manipulation.
In this quiz-quiz-trade activity, students start with one question each and make sure they can simplify it. I give them a few minutes to check with their partner or with me. My students like to use their mini whiteboards because it lets them change any errors easily.
Then they get out of their seats and meet someone from another table. They take their mini whiteboards (or their notebooks) with them. Meeting someone else, they quiz each other. After they are satisfied that they both got their questions correct, they trade cards, thus leaving with a different card then the one with which they arrived.
While the students are quizzing each other, I am able to circulate and address misconceptions. The students are quite good at helping each other. After this activity I think they will feel a lot more confident with adding and subtracting algebraic fractions.
When students sit back down, I ask them to do a few of the algebraic calculations in their notebooks so they have a record of what they learned.
I made these cards using Tarsia software, designed for making mathematics activities. Here are two files (pdf) of the cards.