What do sunflower drawings, pattern blocks, rulers, and a classroom clothesline have in common? In third grade, they have all been bringing fractions to life.
Over the past several weeks in both Number Corner and their Bridges unit, third graders have been developing a meaningful understanding of fractions as numbers: not just pieces of shapes, but values that can be measured, compared, and located on a number line.
The learning began with a scenario challenge: How could an art club fairly share wall space for a mural? As students explored dividing the same whole among two, three, four, six, and even eight artists, they discovered the important role of the denominator and noticed how the size of each share changes as the whole is partitioned into more equal parts.
This foundational idea — that fractions represent equal parts of the same whole — helped students understand why fractions must refer to the same whole to be meaningfully compared.
Hands-on exploration anchored the learning. Students folded paper into equal parts, modeled fractions with pattern blocks, and represented their thinking symbolically using numerators and denominators. Using a clothesline number line, students hung fractions in the correct location and justified their reasoning.
Through this visual and interactive experience, students discovered equivalent fractions and explored numbers greater than one, strengthening their understanding that fractions are numbers with precise locations and relationships.
Fractions and measurement intersected when student pairs created detailed sunflower drawings and measured leaf lengths to the nearest ½ and ¼ inch. Workplace games like Fraction Tic-Tac-Toe and Hexagon Spin & Fill encouraged strategy, collaboration, and joyful practice.
These rich, hands-on experiences are building far more than fraction skills; they are strengthening mathematical confidence, perseverance, and flexible thinking.
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