Fractions - Making a quarter activity - Starter

In a starter activity aimed at Year 1 students during their Summer Term, children are introduced to the concept of fractions, specifically making a quarter. The 'Fluent in Four' revision section provides a simple arithmetic problem where students are asked to find half of 14 and then double the number 0. The answer to this problem is calculated as 7, since half of 14 equals 7 and doubling 0 still results in 0. The activity is structured to help students practice basic operations and reinforce their understanding of halves and doubling.

The lesson continues with practical exercises where students use physical objects such as cubes or counters to solve problems involving halves. They are presented with a scenario involving a certain number of beads or lollipops and are tasked with finding half of the given number. For example, if there are 12 beads, students determine that half of 12 is 6. Additionally, the activity includes a counting exercise where students are encouraged to count backwards from 8, filling in the missing numbers down to 5. To further develop their arithmetic skills, they complete simple addition equations where the sum equals 9, enhancing their ability to identify missing addends in equations such as "4 + _____ = 9" and "9 = 5 + _____".