Introduction to Fractions WIDA 6

Introduction to Fractions For English Proficient and WIDA 6 ELs

1. Have you ever wondered where you could find fractions?

You have seen fractions in many places, and used them for many purposes.

You might have seen fractions in the kitchen, and used them to follow a recipe.

If you needed one-fourth of a cup of lemon-juice to marinate chicken, you used a fraction.

One-fourth is a fraction because it shows one out of four equal parts.

You might have seen fractions at a picnic in the park, and used them to share .

If your friend wanted one-half of your sandwich, you used a fraction.

One-half is a fraction because it shows one out of two equal parts.

You might have seen fractions in the mall, and used them when you bought something.

If you paid for something with a quarter (one-quarter of a dollar), you used a fraction.

One-quarter is a fraction because it shows one out of four equal parts (4 x 25 = 100).

What do we mean by equal parts?

In fractions we draw, equal parts have equal size.

Can you tell if the pictures below show equal parts?

Hint: count the area of the squares.

Activity: can you find the fractions in the everyday objects below?

Explain why you think the picture shows a fraction.

Hint: It shows a fraction because it shows some number of equal parts of a whole.

2. Can you make a fraction using paper?

Fractions show equal parts of a whole.

You can make a fraction by folding or cutting paper or other objects. To create a fraction, first fold the paper into two equal parts. Next, shade or mark one of the parts in some way. The shaded part that you created shows a fraction that you are probably familiar with: one-half.

How to make one half.

Activity: use a sheet of paper to make one-fourth.

Imagine your friend has a birthday party, and wants to share a cake with three other friends. For each friend to get the same amount of cake, she would need to cut the cake into four equal pieces. Each piece would be one-fourth of the cake. Pretend your sheet of paper is the cake that you want to share. How many ways can you draw four equal parts, or one-fourths?

3. How can you use numbers to represent fractions?

Remember, each part of a fraction has the same size.

A fraction names part of a whole. A fraction has two numbers: one number is on the top, another number is on the bottom, and a line separates the top from bottom. The bottom number of a fraction shows how many pieces are in the whole altogether. The top number in a fraction shows only the pieces that you are trying to represent.

How to read a fraction.

Here are some more common fractions that we will learn to compare, add, and subtract soon.

Make fractions online!

Check. How well do you understand what a fraction is?

4. Wrap-Up Exercise

1. Find a flag with a fraction.

Draw the fraction in the flag:

Why does the flag show a fraction?

Hint: use the words because and equal parts.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Draw any fraction you would like.

Argue why it shows a fraction.

Hint: remember to use because.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by AnnRos - "football ball soccer" • igorovsyannykov - "pizza food italian" • richardwoeber - "honey comb pollen" • Wokandapix - "eggs easter easter eggs" • Paul_Henri - "church window monastery window" • DomenicBlair - "magic cube cube puzzle" • No-longer-here - "tiles old vintage" • eslfuntaiwan - "quiz test exam"