Fractions - Find a third - Planning

In the Year 3 curriculum, during the Spring term's third week, students delve into the concept of fractions, specifically focusing on finding a third. The lesson begins with a review of prior knowledge and a 'fluent in four' question exercise, setting the stage for the day's learning. The key vocabulary for this lesson includes terms such as 'whole', 'part', 'thirds', 'fraction', 'numerator', and 'denominator', with resources available for further clarification. The objective is to help children understand how to divide a whole into three equal parts and identify one third of a given quantity. Utilising concrete materials like cubes or counters, along with differentiated sheets and teaching slides, the lesson is designed to cater to various levels of understanding.

The class teaching input guides students through activities that reinforce the concept of thirds. In the first activity, children physically divide sets of nine cubes into three equal groups to visually comprehend what one third represents. Subsequent activities involve solving word problems that require finding a third of a number and applying this knowledge to practical scenarios, such as determining how many gingerbread men are left after dividing them into thirds. A bar model is introduced to support calculations, and worksheets are provided for independent practice. The plenary session encourages self-reflection, asking students to consider what they have learned, the skills they have used, and any challenges they faced. The lesson plan also outlines differentiated levels of complexity, from working towards understanding simple amounts to achieving greater depth with more challenging two-step problems.