Fractions - Fractions greater than 1 - Presentation

In a comprehensive lesson on fractions greater than 1, students are introduced to the concept of improper fractions and how they can be represented as a combination of whole numbers and proper fractions. The lesson begins with a discussion about what is known when the numerator and denominator of a fraction are the same. Students then move on to activities where they learn to split fractions into whole parts and remaining parts. For instance, six quarters is broken down into one whole and two quarters, and similarly, five thirds is split into one whole and two thirds. These activities help students visualise and understand that fractions are not limited to values less than one and can indeed represent quantities greater than a whole.

The lesson continues with an activity where students complete part-whole models, reinforcing their understanding of how to convert improper fractions into mixed numbers. For example, eight thirds is shown as two wholes plus two-thirds, and nine quarters as two wholes plus one quarter. Further activities challenge students to calculate and convert larger improper fractions, such as thirteen quarters into three and one quarter, or thirty-three sevenths into four and five sevenths. The lesson also includes reasoning exercises, such as determining how many whole pies are eaten from a given number of slices, spotting mistakes in fraction conversion, and discussing the equivalence of different fractions. These activities encourage critical thinking and help students solidify their understanding of fractions greater than one through practical examples and error correction.