Teaching Fraction-to-Decimal Translation Using the Number Line.

This article focuses on a four-step teaching sequence using the number line to support students with learning disabilities (LD) in mathematics in understanding fraction-to-decimal relationships, a foundational skill for middle school mathematics. It emphasizes the importance of rational number proficiency—comprising concepts such as magnitude, arithmetic, density, and translation—in predicting later success in advanced mathematics courses like Algebra I. The sequence employs explicit and systematic instruction to help students represent tenths and hundredths as fractions, place these fractions on a number line, relate fractions to decimals using place value charts, and finally place fractions and decimals together on the same number line. The use of the number line is highlighted as an effective, research-supported tool to build conceptual understanding and overcome common misconceptions associated with whole number bias among students with LD in mathematics.