Fractions
Class 5 · Mathematics
4 ideas in Class 5 Mathematics, explained in plain words, with games and quizzes to practise.
Equivalent Fractions
Part of: Same part, different names
Equivalent fractions are different names for the same amount. If you cut a chapati into 2 equal parts and take 1, you have 1/2. Cut each half again into 2 pieces and you have 2 pieces out of 4, which is 2/4. The amount you hold has not changed, only the number of pieces.
Why it matters. Children often think a fraction with bigger numbers is a bigger amount. Seeing that 1/2 and 2/4 are the same amount helps them compare and add fractions later.
Try it in two minutes
- Fold a sheet of paper in half and colour one half.
- Fold it in half again and ask: how many small parts are coloured now, and how many parts in all?
- Fold once more and repeat. Ask: what do you notice about the coloured part and the top and bottom numbers?
Try at home. Draw a rectangle and shade 1/3 of it. Ask your child to cut each third into 2 pieces and write the new name for the shaded part.
Comparing Fractions with Same Parts
Part of: Which fraction is more
When pieces are the same size, the fraction with more pieces is greater, so 5/8 is more than 3/8. When the number of pieces is the same, look at the size of each piece: a whole cut into fewer parts has bigger parts, so 3/4 is more than 3/8.
Why it matters. Many children compare only the bigger digits and say 3/8 is more than 3/4. Thinking about piece size fixes this common slip.
Try it in two minutes
- Cut two equal paper strips. Fold one into 4 parts and one into 8 parts.
- Ask your child to hold up 3 parts of each. Ask: which is longer?
- Ask: why does a bigger bottom number give smaller pieces?
Try at home. Ask your child to share a bar of chocolate fairly in two different ways and say which pieces are bigger and why.
Fractions Greater Than One
Part of: Fractions bigger than one
If a roti is cut into halves, 2 halves make 1 whole roti. If you eat 5 halves, you ate 2 whole rotis and 1 more half, which is 2 and 1/2. A fraction like 5/2, with a top number bigger than the bottom, is more than 1.
Why it matters. Children who think fractions are always small parts get confused by 7/4 or 9/2. Counting pieces into wholes builds the idea of numbers between whole numbers.
Try it in two minutes
- Cut 3 paper circles into halves. Put 5 halves on the table.
- Ask: how many whole circles can you make, and how many halves are left?
- Repeat with fourths and ask: how many fourths make one whole?
Try at home. Ask your child to show 7/3 on a number line from 0 to 3 and say where it lands.
Comparing with 1 and 1/2
Part of: Using one and one half as guides
When fractions have different bottom numbers, compare each with an easy guide such as 1 or 1/2. 7/8 is less than 1 and 8/7 is more than 1, so 8/7 is greater. To check against one half, halve the bottom number: half of 10 is 5, so 4/10 is less than half and 6/10 is more.
Why it matters. This gives children a quick way to compare without drawing, and builds a feel for how big a fraction is.
Try it in two minutes
- Say a fraction such as 5/9 and ask your child: is it more or less than half?
- Together find half of the bottom number (4 and a half) and compare it with 5.
- Try 3/7, 9/10 and 6/6. Ask your child to explain each answer.
Try at home. Pick two fractions with different bottom numbers and ask your child to say which is greater using 1 or 1/2 as a guide.
What your child will practise
- Comparing Fractions with Same Parts: Jungle Puzzle (Clue Puzzle)
- Comparing Fractions with Same Parts: Jungle Quest (Collect the Answer)
- Comparing with 1 and 1/2: Desert Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Equivalent Fractions: Candy Quest (Flip and Match)
- Fractions Greater Than One: Space Sort (Sort It Out)
- Quiz: Comparing Fractions with Same Parts (8 questions)
- Quiz: Comparing with 1 and 1/2 (8 questions)
- Quiz: Equivalent Fractions (8 questions)
- Quiz: Fractions Greater Than One (8 questions)