Mathematics Year 3

Unit Focus Fractions and Decimals

Lesson Focus Representing and comparing unit fractions
Learning Intention Students will:
 Represent fractions with a range of materials and shapes
 Compare familiar unit fractions.

Audio Script
T: Good morning Year 3. Today you are going to represent and compare different
fractions using shapes and materials. Firstly, let us take some time now to think about
what you already know about fractions. Now, if you are unsure about what that
means, that is okay! I would like you to, without moving around the classroom, turn
to the person sitting behind you and perform a turn and talk. For a turn and talk, you
may be the speaker, or you may be the listener. I would like you to spend this time
discussing with your partner what you know about fractions or even what you would
like to know about fractions. Please perform your turn and talk now.

WAIT TIME (Students perform turn and talk)

T: (Three claps) Alright Year 3, eyes on me, lips are closed, and you are ready to learn
(pause for student redirection). Excellent, I can see Year 3 are ready to learn! Now
let’s start by looking at our WALT, WILF and TIB. As you already know, today we are
learning to represent and compare different fractions using materials and shapes.
Today, what I am looking for aligns with our Year 3 four-star success criteria.
Remember, our four-star success criteria is all about furthering your learning by
being a leader of your learning. Some of you may decide to begin at one-star, whilst
others may decide to reach for three-stars to show your growing understanding of
fractions. Remember, we need to know before we can grow, so start where you need
so that you can succeed! (Display four-star success criteria on the IWB).

Let’s read our star success criteria together:

 For our one stars (hold up one finger), you can identify and label unit fractions,
and compare fractions of the same denominator by size.
 For our two stars (hold up two fingers), you can identify and label unit fractions
and non-unit fractions of shapes and compare fractions of the same denominator
using appropriate comparison symbols.
 For our three stars (hold up three fingers), you can identify and label unit and non-
unit fractions of shapes and collections and compare fractions of different
denominators using appropriate comparison symbols.
 Finally, for our four stars (hold up four fingers), you can identify and label unit and
non-unit fractions of shapes and collections and their multiples and compare
fractions of different denominators using appropriate comparison symbols in
each order.

Learning to identify and compare fractions is important because we use fractions in

everyday situations, such as cooking, sharing, shopping, and even when telling the
 time. Now let us recall our knowledge about fractions from yesterday. We used paper
to cut-out a circle and folded it in to different fractions. What fractions did we make
using our circle shape?

S: Halves, quarters, and eighths.

T: Excellent. When compared each circle shape by placing the different sized fractions
on top of each other, which fraction looked the largest and which looked the
smallest?

S: A half was the biggest and an eighth was the smallest fraction.

T: Fantastic, we saw that when we used halving, a half was the largest part of our circle
shape compared to an eighth, which was the smallest in size. When we folded our
circle in half and shaded only one half, what fraction did we make?

S: One-half.

T: That is correct. We had two parts of a whole and shaded in one, so we had one half
as our fraction. How do we write that using numbers and symbols? Let us move back
to our desks and we will refer to our “Fraction Wall” to recall our maths language for
writing fractions (refer to fraction wall in classroom).

The numerator of a fraction counts the number of equally sized pieces that are
contained in the fraction. We know the numerator is on the top of a fraction because
it is n-n-north of the line, which we call the vinculum. Let us stand and stomp to
remember (students stand up, repeat after the teacher whilst stomping on the spot and
moving their arms) – The numerator is n-n-north (point both hands up, repeat 3
times). The numerator for our circle shape was 1 because that tells us the number of
shaded parts in our shape.

The denominator of a fraction tells you how many parts a whole is broken into. We
know the denominator is on the bottom because it is d-d-down. Let us stand and
stomp this key information (students stand up, repeat after the teacher whilst
stomping on the spot and moving their arms) – The denominator is d-d-down (point
to the ground) (repeat 3 times). The denominator for our circle shape was 2 because
that tells us the whole number of parts our shape could be broken into (write this on
the board).

Now, quickly and quietly, can you please move back to your desk and have your
maths book open. You will see some unifix cubes on your desk. We will use the Unifix
cubes to represent and compare fractions using materials. I will now do the first one,
and I would like you to think about how many equal parts you will need to show
different fractions.

Place 8 unifix cubes in front of each student,

T: Firstly, I am going to make a whole using all of my unifix cubes.

WAIT TIME (students make one whole, teacher can model how to join 8 cubes to represent a
whole after wait time).

T: Well, I can see that I have eight cubes to use. I know that to be a whole, I must have
one part with eight cubes. To represent this, I will join my cubes together to make
one stack that is eight cubes high. To write this fraction, I will simply write the
number 1 on the whiteboard.

Now, we are going to make a half. Working in your table group and using your unifix
cubes, can you please show me a half of your whole.

WAIT TIME

T: Let us check. I can see that some groups have split the stack in half, where they now
have two parts with four cubes each. Student A, why did you break up your whole in
that way?

S: I used my knowledge of halving to half a whole, which makes one half.

T: Excellent use of our key word Student A, well done! So how would I write this using
appropriate fraction numbers and symbols?

S: To represent this, I will write one over two to make a half.

T: That is correct! You are fantastic fractional decoders! Now, I would like you to work
independently to show me a quarter using your cubes. Fast finishers, you may move
onto making an eighth.

WAIT TIME

T: Now, let’s compare our stacks. Which fraction appears to be the smallest and largest
and how did you know?

S: An eighth was the smallest because I split each piece into eight parts of one cube
each. A half was the largest because I split the whole into two parts of four cubes
each. When I compared each stack by height, it was clear that a half was the tallest
and an eighth was the shortest.

T: Great explanation using mathematical language! So, does our comparison of

fractions using shapes match our comparison of fractions using materials in terms of
the largest and smallest fraction? What does that tell us about ordering fractions in
ascending order, that is from smallest to largest? We will have to leave the lesson
there for today and tomorrow we will expand our knowledge of fractions by
identifying the multiples of our fractions.