Activity 01
Play-Doh Halves
Give each pair of pupils a ball of Play-Doh and a plastic knife. Challenge them to cut the ball in half to share it fairly between them. They can then check if their halves are equal by placing them on a balance scale.
Explain what 'fair' means when you are sharing sweets.
Facilitation TipConstantly use the language 'equal' and 'fair', asking 'Is that a fair share? Are both pieces the same size?'
What to look forObserve pupils during hands-on activities. Note the language they use and their ability to physically create two equal shares from a whole object like Play-Doh or a piece of paper.
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Activity 02
The Halves Hunt
Pupils become detectives and hunt around the classroom and school grounds for examples of halves. They could find a book open to the middle, a window with two panes, or a sandwich cut in two.
Identify if a sharing of 6 blocks into a group of 4 and a group of 2 is fair.
Facilitation TipProvide a simple chart or a digital camera for pupils to record their findings to share with the whole class later.
What to look forProvide a worksheet with images of various objects. Pupils must circle the objects that are correctly cut in half and put an 'X' on those that are not.
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Activity 03
Folding Fun
Provide pupils with various paper shapes like squares, rectangles, and circles. They must explore different ways to fold them to create two perfect halves, colouring in one half afterwards.
Justify why it is important to share equally.
Facilitation TipDemonstrate how a rectangle can be folded in two different ways to make halves, showing there isn't always just one answer.
What to look forAsk pupils to draw a smiley face if they understand halves, a straight face if they are a bit unsure, and a sad face if they are confused. This provides a quick snapshot of class confidence.
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Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Begin with tangible, 3D objects that pupils can manipulate, like food items (with care for allergies) or Play-Doh, to establish the concept of 'equal parts'. Transition to 2D paper-folding activities to explore halves in shapes. Throughout all activities, model and encourage the use of key vocabulary like 'whole', 'half', and 'equal'.
By the end of this topic, your pupils will be able to confidently identify and create halves, using the correct language to explain that a half means two equal parts.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Any two pieces of an object are 'halves'.
Explain that 'half' is a special word in maths that means two parts that are exactly the same size, or 'equal'. Cutting a cake into a big piece and a small piece means you have two pieces, but they are not halves.
An object can only be halved in one specific way (e.g., vertically).
Show through paper folding that a square or rectangle can be halved vertically, horizontally, and even diagonally. As long as the fold creates two identical, overlapping parts, you have made halves.
Taller or longer always means bigger.
When a rectangle is halved in two different ways (vertically vs horizontally), the resulting halves have different dimensions but are the same area. Show this by cutting them out and placing one on top of the other to prove they are the same amount.
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