We began our fraction study by me posing a problem for the students to help me out. I told them I had my son and one of his friends after school and I needed to give them a snack. I told them I only have 1 poptart, 1 cookie, and 1 cheese stick. I asked how I could share them so they get an equal amount. Students helped me divide the snacks in half so that both kids got the same amount. Then we read Give Me Half!. We sorted pictures by whole and half. We came up with a definition for the words fraction and whole. Then students illustrated an example of whole.
We read Pizza Counting and reviewed what we learned about whole and half. Then students created their own pizzas. They left one pizza whole and labeled it whole; then they cut one pizza in half and labeled it half. We came up with a definition for half and students illustrated an example of half.
We read What's Happening on the Farm?. Then we sorted farm pictures by whole and halves. We added the farm sort to a math station. Then students cut a cupcake in half.
