Activity 01
Fraction Strip Folding
Give each pupil several paper strips of the same length. They leave one whole, fold another in half, another into quarters, and another into eighths, labelling each part. By lining up the strips, they can visually identify which fractions are equivalent.
Explain why 1/2 is equivalent to 2/4 using a drawing.
Facilitation TipEncourage pupils to use different colours for each strip to make the visual comparison clearer.
What to look forObserve pupils during the paper folding activity. Ask them to show you two strips that are the same length and explain how they know the fractions are equivalent.
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Activity 02
Lego Fraction Builders
Using Lego bricks, pupils build a 'whole' with a large brick (e.g., an 8-stud brick). They then find how many smaller bricks (4-stud, 2-stud) are needed to make an equivalent length, discovering relationships like 1/2 = 2/4.
Identify two fractions that are equivalent to 1/2 from a given list.
Facilitation TipAsk probing questions like, 'How many of the red bricks make up the same length as the blue brick?'
What to look forProvide a worksheet with shaded shapes. Pupils write the fraction for each shaded part and then draw lines connecting the shapes that show equivalent fractions.
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Activity 03
Equivalent Fraction Snap
Create a set of cards with pictorial representations of fractions and their symbolic forms (e.g., a picture of 1/2, the fraction 2/4). Pupils play a game of Snap, shouting 'Snap!' when two equivalent fractions are turned over.
Justify how you can use a fraction wall to find fractions that are equal to 3/6.
Facilitation TipStart with a smaller set of familiar fractions (halves, quarters) before introducing thirds or sixths.
What to look forPupils complete an 'exit ticket' with a single problem, such as 'Draw a picture to show that 1/3 is the same as 2/6'. This gives a quick snapshot of individual understanding.
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Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Start with highly visual and hands-on materials like fraction walls or paper strips. Allow plenty of time for exploration and discussion in pairs before moving to symbolic representation. Use questioning like, 'What do you notice about the numerators and denominators in these equivalent pairs?' to guide them towards discovering the multiplicative relationship.
By the end of our investigation, pupils will be able to use pictures and objects to find and explain pairs of equivalent fractions, like 1/2 and 2/4.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
A bigger denominator means a bigger fraction. For example, a pupil might think 1/8 is larger than 1/4 because 8 is larger than 4.
Use concrete materials to show that the denominator tells us how many equal pieces the whole is split into. The more pieces you split it into, the smaller each individual piece becomes.
To find an equivalent fraction, you can just add the same number to the top and bottom, e.g., 1/2 becomes 2/3 by adding 1.
Demonstrate with a diagram that 1/2 and 2/3 are not the same amount. Emphasise that we are splitting the existing pieces, which is a multiplicative action (doubling the pieces means doubling the numerator and denominator), not an additive one.
The fractions 2/4 and 4/2 are the same because they use the same numbers.
Reinforce the meaning of the numerator and denominator. Use a real-world example: 'Would you rather have 2 pieces of a pizza cut into 4 (2/4), or 4 whole pizzas cut in half (4/2)?' This clarifies their very different values.
Methods used in this brief