I try to infuse fun into my children’s learning. My Primary 2 son finds fractions daunting when his teacher first introduced to the concept of fractions. These are not whole numbers, and he cannot fathom how numbers can exist between 0 to 1.
Knowing that he learns better visually, I sourced for some manipulatives to help him grasp the concept of fractions better. My mini investments pay off. He views these learning aids as toys and no longer stresses over what fractions are.
Rainbow Fraction Tiles
The Rainbow Fraction Tiles* was fascinating to him for a start. It is the most useful learning aid amongst the three I bought. After I present with him with the tiles, he happily worked through his fraction homework using the tiles as visual aids and toys.
The fraction tiles immediately help him see how two halves make one, three one-thirds make 1.
Elementary questions are as follows:-
What fraction must be added to 2/5 to make 1 whole?
My boy started with 2+5, and also tried out with subtraction, multiplication and division! After all, these are the basic he knows.
Placing the one whole bar and five 1/5 fraction tiles next to each other, he can quickly figure out that he needs three 1/5 tiles to make one whole.
Which fraction is the smallest? 1/8, 1/5 or 1/4?
Using fraction tiles, I didn’t even need to explain why the fraction with a smaller denominator has a bigger value.
Primary 2 fraction sums revolve around fractions with the same denominator.
The following is an example which I pulled out from KooBits. See my post on Koobits here.
Devi and her family members baked a pancake together. The pancake was divided into 10 equal pieces. Devi took 1 piece and her mother took several pieces. 7/10 of the pancakes was left. How many pieces of pancake did her mother take?
When we first started to tackle the fraction problem sums, we used the tiles to inject some fun element into the learning since the fraction tiles worked like toys to him.
First, we took away the first tile since Devi took a piece of pizza. Second, we pulled out the seven slices of pizza, which remained. It is now clear to him that Devi’s mum took two pieces of pizza.
After he understood the story and how the answer was derived, we went through the answer again using fraction equations.
These days, we no longer rely on the fraction tiles. As and when required, we draw models, similar to the above, to help him visualise the questions.
Using the Rainbow tile in the foreseeable future
I will likely bring it out again for my daughter’s application since she is going P2 next year.
Moving beyond P2, I can foresee using the Rainbow tiles for equivalents, i.e. 1/2 is the equivalent to 2/4.
It will be visually impactful to see how simple additions and subtractions using different denominators work out. For example, 1/12 + 1/12 +1/6 = 1/3.
You can click on this link* to purchase the Rainbow Tile. Please note that there are a couple of similar fraction tiles available on the Amazon. I bought the more expensive set which contains two sides. One side is embossed with fractions, and the inverse has decimal values.
Pizza Fraction Fun
I bought the Pizza Fraction Fun thinking that my kids will have even more fun learning fractions.
Well, they did have fun. They played the pizza shop and ordered pieces of pizzas in halves and quarts.
Thanks to the pizza game, my P1 girl who is turning seven this year, has an advanced introduction to fractions. She now knows what fractions are. I am sure that when she moves up to P2, the introduction of fractions is not going to daunt her like how it did to her brother.
One of the simpler games we played was to compete in completing the most pizzas in the fastest time, using 1/2 and 1/4. Using a spinner, we pick the pizza slices of various sizes and can even swap with other players for a larger pizza piece to try to win the game.
We could also make use of the pizzas to practice equivalents the same way as the fraction tiles, addition and subtractions, using different denominators.
According to the instruction manual, there are seven ways to play the pizza set. However, the games can get somewhat tricky, and older kids with a better grasp of the subject can appreciate these games better.
This toy is not a good companion for homework. However, it is a great way to introduce fractions and simple addition and subtraction to younger children. Even a 5-year old can learn fractions through play. I think I bring out these pizzas periodically play.
Getting the kids to handle the pizza set with care can be a bit of a challenge, especially for families with very young children at home. The manufacturer understandably uses cardboard as the material, but they could have made it a little thicker. I have to keep the pizza slices out of the toddlers’ reach because they have chewed on them before.
Click here to purchase your set of Fraction Pizzas*.
Fraction Dominoes
This is a great game* to reinforce the various concepts in fractions.
We use the dominos to match fractions in different formats. For a start, we compare 2/6 to a pie that is shaded 2 out of 6.
Likewise, we can utilise them to reinforce concepts of equivalents, and summing the fractions in different formats into one whole, like how I do it in the picture below.
My son managed to win the first game with me. He felt so good that he challenged me for more. However, we left my P1 girl out because the game is too advanced for her.
We will be playing with this for the next couple of years for sure. Quality wise, although the dominoes are made of cardboard, they are thick and sturdy. I believe the set should be able to survive the kids’ rough handling for a couple of years.
You may also like:
Base Ten Blocks for Learning Mathematics (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division)
KooBits ProblemSums – Effective Mathematics help for the kids
An update of our Primary 1 and Primary 2 journey – A series of mini-tests; CCA trials
Organizing my parenting life using Google Apps
Free Printables – Primary 4 Chinese Flashcards
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