Literacy

Professional Development

March 30, 2014

Fraction Activities

Teaching fractions in kindergarten can be tricky, but it also can be a blast! There are many hands-on activities that you can do. In math, it’s all about providing experiences that are concrete before moving to abstract. Here is a little glimpse at how we tackled fractions with fraction activities last week!

Fraction activities for kindergarten can be tough to find, but this blog post shares simple, practical, concrete ways for students to break down fractions before moving to the abstract practice. Amazon affiliate links are used below. 

We started with defining what a fraction is.  I was able to easily link their learning back to “fair shares”. We made this little anchor chart together to anchor our learning. See more math anchor charts HERE.

Create this simple fraction anchor chart for your kindergarden or first grade class as you begin learning about fractions!
Side Note: This size manilla paper is my favorite because the posters take up WAY less room! 
I read aloud a book by one of my favorite math authors, Stewart Murphy.  You can find this book HEREThis is a classroom favorite for a fraction read aloud!

We then practiced cutting different shapes into halves and show an example of what was a half and what wasn’t a half.  I wanted them to see, visually, that halves don’t always look the same.  We started with a circle and then moved to rectangles and finally to triangles. Use this fraction anchor chart to show students what is half and what is not half. It's great to start visually and then move to the abstract!

Having students create examples of halves and not halves is a great way for them to have an hands-on experience with fractions!
Having students create examples of halves and not halves is a great way for them to have an hands-on experience with fractions!
For my high leveled kids who were ready to move past the concrete and into the abstract, we wrote the fractions. This is most definitely NOT a kindergarden standard for us, but they needed a challenge and were ready to take the lesson one step further!
For the kindergarden kids who are ready, extend the lesson by having them write the fraction. Have them move from concrete to abstract.

At the end of our week, we sorted the three shapes we worked with (circles, rectangles, and triangles) into equal and unequal.Fraction sort that shows students what is equal and what is not equal using all shapes!

 You can find all pieces of what we used and much more HERE in this Fraction unit. 
Fraction activities that are sure to engage your students and provide hands on experiences with building fractions in kindergarten and 1st grade!
What activities do you do as you teach fractions to your students? Do you spend enough time practicing concretely before moving to the abstract practice of writing fractions?  I would love to hear your ideas!
Fraction activities and fraction lesson ideas for kindergarten and first grade--love the book she used and the anchor charts she made with her class! #MathLessons #Fractions

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Happy Teaching,

Amanda

FREE Subitizing Cards

Make math FUN with this subitizing game. It includes numbers one through ten, and students play it similarly to War. Just download, print, laminate, and you’ll be totally set. Grab it today and boost your students’ math skills!

Hi, I'm Amanda

I’m a K-1 teacher who is passionate about making lessons your students love and that are easy to implement for teachers.  Helping teachers like you navigate their way through their literacy block brings me great joy. I am a lifelong learner who loves staying on top of current literacy learning and practices. Here, you’ll find the tools you need to move your K-2 students forward!

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5 Responses

  1. Too funny! I make all my anchor charts on that size manila paper too! We finished our unit on fractions last week. Your unit is definitely going on my wishlist for next year. Thanks for sharing!

  2. Love this! Do you have to create your own curriculum where you teach or did you use this to supplement? We use EnVision math at my school and in first grade we will hit fractions at the end of the year 🙂 This might come in handy!

    Also random but what is the adorable font that says Fraction Anchor Chart sideways on your picture of your chart? 🙂

    Shelby
    First Time Firstie

    1. A mixture of both. We have our standards to follow, but that is is. So I used this as I taught the concept. We weren’t able to use ALL of it because there are parts that I created with my old firstie friends in mind, but we used everything else that aligned to our TEKS. 🙂

      As for the font, it’s a Kimberly Geswein Font, but I can’t remember which one! She is on TpT. Check her out!! She has great work!

  3. Great anchor charts! Where and what size is the mini anchor chart? I agree the others take up so much room! Thanks

    1. Hi Tammie! I apologize for just now seeing this! The mini-anchor charts are on 11×14 manilla paper! I also loved that they would fit on my classroom cabinet doors perfectly! 🙂

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