NK 12  |  Teacher Resource Sheets

This displays a sheet with photos and diagrams that represent a range of fractions. Students need to identify which images show 2/5 and explain how they know this.

• Some of the pictures and representations do not show 2/5. They are intentionally included to help you uncover some frequently held misconceptions that may then be addressed. For example, students often add the numerator to the total number of parts and make this total into the denominator and so 2/7 is believed to represent 2/5. Other students might treat the bar as an addition sign, so choose 2/3 to represent 2/5 because 2 + 3 = 5. Some students focus on the number of pieces and do not realise that these must be of equal size.
• It is important to listen to students’ justification of their ideas as some of the representations show 2/5 in more than one way.

This asks students to identify how many pieces would make a whole and what fraction of the whole each piece would represent.

• Encourage students to use correct language when discussing the three examples. You should ensure that the link between the number of pieces needed to make the whole and the digit on the bottom of the fraction (denominator) is reiterated during the discussion.
  You could model recording addition with fractions for students. For example, 1 red block = ¼ + ¼ + ¼ + ¼ or 4/4 of a green block. 
• The three examples and modelled equations could provide a scaffold for the student’s questions and their partners' recording.
• If the class has access to Lego blocks or similar material, these could be used to model and explore. For this activity, encourage students to use iterations of the same block so that the fractional pieces that make the whole are the same size.