Did you know?
The word fraction comes from a Latin word meaning break. Understanding fractions depends on recognizing the relationship between the whole and its parts and between the size of the piece and the number of pieces.
What you need
- Pie drawings
- Alligator cut-outs
- Cards (only the numbers 1- 8) Markers
- Scissors
What to do
- Choose a card to see how many gators are to share the pie.
- Choose a pie and divide it in a way that will allow each gator to have the same amount. (You can cut it or draw lines showing where to divide it.)
- Choose another card. This is how many new gators come to share that pie.
- Will you have to cut the pie in order for each gator to have the same amount.
- Show how you will share it.
- Tell how much of the pie each gator will get.
- Play again.
What to ask
- How many pieces that size would it take to make a whole pie?
- How would 8 gators share a pie that was cut in half?
- How many pieces would 2 gators get if they shared a pie cut into eighths?
- Who gets more pie? A gator sharing the pie with one other gator?
- Or a gator sharing the pie with 3 other gators? How do you know?
- If you were a gator, which piece would you want? Why?
What’s next?
Design your own gator pie. Choose the number of gators that are coming and divide the pie so that each gator gets the same amount. How many ways can you divide the pie so it can still be shared by the alligators?