How To Teach Fractions To kids

“The glass is two- third full”

“Its quarter - past eight”

“Give me half a chocolate”

The above expressions illustrate the use of fractions in our everyday life. But teaching the concept of fractions to children may be little challenging. Fractions often stand out as the most intimidating part of primary mathematics for both students and grown-ups. 

Fractions can be baffling for kids when they are first introduced to them because it requires a conceptual  leap from whole numbers to rational numbers. In this article let us learn how to teach fractions in an interesting and easy way.

What Are Fractions?

A fraction is a way of showing how something is divided into parts or how many parts of a group there are. A fraction has two parts. The number on the top of the line is called the numerator. It shows how many parts we have or objects we have taken. The bottom number is called the denominator. It shows how many equal parts the whole is divided into, or how many objects are in the group.When the whole is divided into parts, the number of parts we take make up a fraction.

Example:We can understand the fraction 1/4  as follows.

Numerator: 1

Denominator: 4

The fraction represents one parts when a whole is divided into four equal parts.

The concept of fractions can be reinforced through real life objects Children learn easily through hands-on activities.We can use the following objects  to explain the concept to them visually.

Chapati or Pizza: Divide the chapatti into 4 equal parts. Show them that each slice is one-fourth (1/4) of the whole .If they eat one slice, explain they’ve eaten one-fourth of the chapati or a quarter of the chapati.

Chocolate Bars: The chocolate bar consists of eight equal pieces and if they take four pieces, then they have eaten four-eighth of the chocolate or half.

Different Activities to Teach Fractions

Paper Folding: Fold a sheet of paper in half (1/2), then into quarters (1/4). Color one part and ask, “What fraction have we colored?”

Sets: We can use things around the house – for example, grapes, buttons, beads to make sets. Take  12 beads of same kind. Ask the child to divide them into two equal sets -Six beads in each set. In this way the concept of half can be explained to the child. The concept of quarter can be explained in a similar way. Show the child that they can do this by sharing the objects into four equal groups .So each group becomes one- fourth of the whole.

Number Line: The number line can be an effective way to teach fractions. Divide the number line into equal parts. Teach the child to count the intervals  not the tick marks. Now 1/5 can be easily represented as follows:

A common misunderstanding for children is that the smaller the denominator, the smaller the fraction. For example, children might think that 1/5 is bigger than 1/3 simply because 5 is a larger number than 3. This can be rectified through regular practice .The use of flashcards, lego, fraction games are some of the ways to clear the misconceptions.

Fractions Appear in Everyday Life

Children should understand that Fractions aren’t just for math books—they’re woven into daily activities. Following are some examples:

Cooking: Recipes use fractions all the time (1/2 cup, 1/3 teaspoon).

Time: Half an hour (1/2 hour), quarter past (1/4 hour), three-quarters of an hour (3/4 hour).

Money: In some countries, coins represent fractions of a currency unit.( In India,50 paisa is half of a rupee.)

Measurements: In sewing or crafts, we often measure in halves or quarters(10.5 inches)

Conclusion

Fractions aren’t scary at all.A little bit of patience and creativity can help the child in gaining confidence. Fractions should be taught in a fun and engaging way so that children enjoy learning and also build a strong base for understanding more complex concepts in the future.

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