Fractional blocks

Prior knowledge

find a simple fraction of a set by sharing material

Background

In this activity, one understanding to develop is that 1/2 means ‘1 out of 2’, so to shade 1/2 of a block of 16 squares, every other square needs to be shaded. Using symmetry in shading is another important aspect of the work, as it allows the student to visualise the block in different ways – that is see it as a block of 16 squares (so each is a sixteenth) or as 4 rows of 4 squares (so each is a quarter). This is the start of equivalent fractions.

Remember that students who have not reached stage 6 in the “basic facts” domain have not learned all of their basic multiplication facts, so a multiplicative strategy based purely on the numbers may not work for all students. The numbers used in these activities have been kept simple to reflect this, and materials have been provided even at the ‘number properties’ stage.

Comments on the Exercises

Exercise 1
Asks students to shade in a fraction of a set of blocks.  It also asks students to find fractions of 100.