Fractions - Problem solving with fractions - Presentation

Understanding fractions begins with the concepts of 'whole' and 'part', and in this lesson, students delve into working with parts and wholes. They are encouraged to discuss these foundational ideas before moving on to practical activities. One such activity involves examining groups of cupcakes and determining whether they are divided into equal or unequal parts. Through this, students learn to visually identify and distinguish between equal groups, where, for example, three cupcakes make up each group, and unequal groups, where the number of items in each group varies.

The lesson continues with a series of engaging tasks designed to further explore the relationship between parts and wholes. Students are presented with a game cube, representing a whole, and are asked to identify which items could be parts of this whole, ruling out unrelated objects like sandwiches or flowers. They also engage in tasks that require them to build towers with cubes and then divide them into both equal and unequal parts, exploring the various combinations possible. The lesson is not just about visual recognition but also about reasoning skills, as students are asked to consider the difference between equal and unequal parts and investigate the numerous ways a number or a set of objects can be split into fractions.