<![CDATA[Students' limited grasp of fraction concepts represents a persistent obstacle in elementary mathematics instruction across Indonesia. Drawing on Vygotsky's social constructivism and the 'writing-to-learn' paradigm, this study investigates whether a structured pedagogical strategy termed the Relaxed Journalistic Method (RJM) can produce meaningful gains in numeracy literacy among fifth-grade learners. RJM channels four sequential activities field observation (reportase), analytical inquiry (investigasi), reflective writing (narasi), and peer editorial discussion (konferensi redaksi) to help students document, interrogate, and articulate fraction concepts in a low-anxiety journalistic register. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test control-group design was adopted at MIN 13 Pidie Jaya, Aceh Province, during the odd semester of the 2024/2025 academic year. Fifty-two Grade V students were assigned by intact class to either an experimental group (n = 26, RJM instruction) or a control group (n = 26, conventional lecture-and-drill). Outcome data were collected using a 25-item context-based numeracy literacy test (r₁₁ = 0.87), a structured classroom observation checklist, and a 20 item Likert-scale student response questionnaire. Results revealed that experimental-group participants achieved a mean post-test score of 82.3 (SD = 7.6), compared with 68.7 (SD = 8.2) for the control group. The normalised gain index (N Gain) for the experimental group (g = 0.61) was classified as moderate, substantially exceeding the control group's low-category gain (g = 0.31). An independent samples t test confirmed a statistically significant between-group difference (t = 7.843, p < 0.001). Additionally, 88.5 percent of RJM participants rated the approach in the 'Very Good' category. These findings indicate that integrating journalistic writing conventions into fraction instruction fosters deeper conceptual engagement and stronger numeracy performance, offering practitioners a readily implementable alternative to transmissive pedagogies.]]>
