Fractions - Recognise a third - Presentation

Understanding fractions is a fundamental aspect of mathematics, and in this particular lesson, students are introduced to the concept of a third. The lesson is designed to help students recognise and understand what a third is, starting with a discussion on where they have heard the term before. The teaching slides provide visual representations to illustrate that just like two equal halves make one whole, and four equal quarters make one whole, three equal thirds also constitute a whole. The lesson further explains the parts of a fraction, with the numerator being the top number indicating how many parts are being considered, and the denominator being the bottom number showing how many equal parts the whole is divided into.

Activities in the lesson are interactive and thought-provoking. For example, one activity involves a pizza divided into equal parts, with students tasked to identify each part as a third and understand that when three siblings share a pizza equally, they each get a third. Another activity asks students to shade one third of various shapes and discuss the similarities and differences in their approaches. The lesson also includes reasoning exercises, such as evaluating a statement by Leanna who mistakenly thinks she has a third of a pizza when she actually has a quarter. Through these exercises, students are encouraged to apply their knowledge, explain their reasoning, and demonstrate their understanding of thirds in different contexts, such as comparing the lengths of cloth pieces or determining the total number of blocks in a tower when given one third of the total.