Max Maths, Year 4, Learn together, Comparing and ordering fractions (5)

In a Year 4 maths lesson from Max Maths, students are tasked with the challenge of comparing and ordering fractions. They are presented with three different fractions: Fraction A is one quarter (1/4), Fraction B is one eighth (1/8), and Fraction C is one half (1/2). To understand which is greater or smaller, the students are encouraged to use models to visually compare the sizes of these fractions, as they are not 'like' fractions—that is, they do not have the same denominators.

Through the use of these models, students discover that one half (1/2) is greater than both one quarter (1/4) and one eighth (1/8), while one eighth (1/8) is the smallest of the three. With this understanding, they can then confidently arrange the fractions in descending order from the greatest to the smallest. The correct order is one half (1/2) being the greatest, followed by one quarter (1/4), and finally one eighth (1/8) as the smallest. An important takeaway from this exercise is the concept that as the denominator of a fraction increases, the fraction itself becomes smaller, which is a key principle in understanding fractional values.