Fraction Frenzy

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

• Have you ever had to break something apart to share it with someone?

That doesn't work too well with oranges or soda bottles!

• What does it mean to have equal parts?
• Can you think of a time when equal parts are important?

Describe a situation where equal parts matter. Discuss these questions and situations with a parent or teacher.

Dividing something into equal parts creates a fraction. A fraction is part of a whole. Fractions indicate that a given whole has been broken into equal parts. The whole can be a group, such as a team, or it can be a thing, such as a pizza or cake.

Check out this Scholastic, Inc. StudyJams! video on Fractions, where you will see examples and review key vocabulary, such as fraction, denominator, and numerator.

1. First, click on PLAY VIDEO to learn about fractions. 
2. After the video, click on TEST YOURSELF to complete the seven-question quiz.

How did you do? Rewatch the video if you struggled through the quiz.

Now let’s review the key points of fractions:

• A fraction is written as a part of a whole.
• The numerator, or the top number, tells you how many equal pieces are counted.
• The denominator, or the bottom number, shows the number of equal parts in the whole.

Division is a process of sharing or dividing an amount equally. Dividing creates equal groups, with the same amount in each group. Fractions are another way to represent division. When dividing a single unit, the unit is broken into equal-sized pieces, or fractions.

For example, if a whole is broken into equal pieces, the division of the whole would look like this:

Fractions are read from top to bottom.

The number on the bottom has a “th” added to it, except the fraction “one half.”

Notice how the fraction ½ is read as “one half.” Half means “one of two equal groups.”

• So, you are probably wondering why this is important to you?

Let’s look at this example:

Four friends bought a giant cookie at the mall. They want to share the cookie equally.

• How much of the cookie will each friend get?

• What would the division equation be?

One whole divided into 4 equal parts:

1 ÷ 4 =

The friends need to cut the cookie into 4 equal parts.

Each friend will get a piece that is ¼ of the whole.

• If you were with 6 friends, would you have received a bigger or smaller piece of cookie?
• What happens to the size of the fraction as the number of pieces it is divided into gets larger?

• Ready for some fraction fun?

Let’s move to the Got It! section to practice identifying and naming fractions.