In all my years of teaching, fractions have been, hands-down, the Achilles' heel of math students. We can't necessarily blame elementary school teachers. Per state testing and district pacing requirements, teachers are allowed to spend only so much time on what fractions are, how they work, and what can be done with them. The effect of this "teach-to-the-test" pressure is a piecemeal, puzzle-pieces-strewn-on-the-floor, understanding of fractions--and it weighs most students down well into high school.
Is there a magic bullet to fix the fraction crisis? It is deep-rooted and multi-faceted, and there is virtually no room for improvement with the current federal and state testing requirements. To repair the situation on a mass scale would take decades.
This leaves students and parents no other choice than to attempt to master the art of fractionry (is that a word?) on their own. As with most other math struggles I write about, the best foundations are laid with physical manipulatives: fractions circles, pizzas, fraction rods, drawings, real-life food, etc. If your child likes to cook, scaling recipes up or down together is an excellent locus to initiate beautiful fraction conversations.
In working with students with dyscalculia, the problem goes much deeper than figuring out how to find common denominators or remembering the steps to divide fractions. Students with dyscalculia often don't know or remember what a fraction even is. Starting with something like a basic fraction reference sheet is most appropriate for struggling student with dyscalculia. You need to talk about, extensively, what a fraction even means, in the context of real-life situations. Working with fraction forms and remembering operation algorithms are harmful activities at this stage.
Stick with the basics. Buy a pizza. Play with an apple and a knife. Have fun and stick to simple problem-solving that applies to the student.
