K-5 friendly lesson
Try one idea, then jump into the activity.These lessons are designed to feel short, friendly, and easy to follow.

Drawing Fractions in Different Ways

šŸŽØ Math Art! A square can be chopped in half top-to-bottom. But it can also be chopped corner-to-corner! It's legally the exact same fraction.

Lesson 5

Concept

Don't let different shapes fool you. You can cut a pizza into 4 slices using an X. You can cut a rectangle into 4 slices using three straight lines up and down! šŸŽÆ **Creative Cutting:** How do we chop a Square into Fourths? 1. **The Window:** Draw a (+) plus sign! (4 tiny squares). 2. **The Lines:** Draw three straight lines down. (4 skinny rods). 3. **The X:** Draw an X from corner to corner. (4 equal triangles). ALL THREE OF THOSE EXAMPLES ARE EQUAL FOURTHS! As long as the pieces inside the shape are identical, the fraction is legally true.

Try it

Chop it up different ways! **Instructions:** The test shows you weird ways of chopping shapes. Are they legally equal? **Problem 1:** A square is chopped diagonally from one corner to the far corner. It made two giant, equal triangles. * Are those triangles legal Halves? (Yes / No) **Problem 2:** A square is chopped into 4 vertical strips that look like skinny tall rods. * Are those rods legal Fourths? (Yes / No) **Problem 3:** A circle is chopped with weird squiggly lines into 3 pieces that look totally different from each other. * Are those legal Thirds? (Yes / No) **Problem 4:** A square is chopped by an X into 4 equal triangles. * Are they Fourths? (Yes / No)