Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 49828
Halves, Quarters and Fourths
This lesson uses a discovery approach to exploring the meaning of halves, fourths, and quarters. The students will utilize math standard(s) as they
analyze math solutions and explain their solutions. This lesson also teaches students that they can decompose larger fractions to make smaller
fractions.
Subject(s): Mathematics
Grade Level(s): 1
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Document Camera
Instructional Time: 1 Hour(s)
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: Fourths, Quarters, Halves, Whole
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
Lesson3 Guided practice sheet 1.docx
Lesson 3 Accommodation 3.docx
Lesson 3 accommodations.docx
Lesson 3 accommodations 2.docx
Lesson 3 Homework activity.docx
Lesson 3 Summative assessment..docx
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
The students will understand that fractions are equal shares of a whole and that there is a difference between the terms fourths, quarters and halves by:
identifying fourths, quarters and halves of shapes.
partitioning two shapes (circles and rectangles) into fourths, quarters and halves.
acknowledging that the terms fourth and quarter are equal.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
The student should be able to identify a circle and a rectangle. (Formative assessment)
Students should be able to compose simple shapes into larger shapes.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
1. If I divide a whole of something into four (4) pieces, does that mean I have 4 fourths of something?
2. If I divide a whole of something into two (2) pieces, does that mean I have divided the item into halves?
3. What does it mean when someone says they have a fraction of something? (It means they have an equal part of an item.)
4. What is another term I can that means the same as fourth? (quarter)
5. Can I change a half of something into a fourth? (Yes) How? (Divide the half into two equal parts.)
6. How many half pieces of something do I need to make a whole? (2)
page 1 of 4 7. How many fourths of something do I need to make a whole? (4)
8. How many quarters of something do I need to make a whole? (4)
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
1. Say:Without answering, close your eyes and picture your favorite cake (or dessert if you do not like cake. If you could have any size piece, would you rather have a
quarter of the cake, a fourth of the cake, or a half of the cake? How do you know that is the size you would like to have?
2. Say: Take out your circle and fold it into fourths. Fold it in any manner you want. (Walk around to see if the students folded their plates into fourths, or just 4
pieces.)
3. Now say:Fold your rectangle into halves.(Again, walk around to observe how the students are forming halves.)
4. Have the students trace the lines on both shapes to help clearly identify the division of the shapes.
5. Instruct the students to put their shapes away for now. We will need them again in a little while.
6. Hold up the book: A Fraction's Goal- Parts of a Whole by: Brian P. Cleary (click to open).
7. Ask:
1. What do you notice on the cover of the book?(There are pizzas on the book)
2. What is going on with the pizzas? (They are divided into parts.)
3. Are the parts equal- the same size? (yes)
4. Do you think that may be a clue to what we will be exploring today? (yes)
5. Yes, we are going to explore fractions, especially half, quarter, and fourth.
8. Read: A Fraction's Goal-Parts of a Whole. (As you read the book, ask the following questions when on the appropriate page in the book.)
1. Who thinks they can tell me what a fraction is?(Bring the students attention to the box on the Title Page that defines a fraction.)
2. Who thinks they can tell me how many pieces something has if it is divided into halves?(2)
3. How much of a pizza do I have if I have two halves?(a whole pizza)
4. What about something that is divided into fourths- how many pieces? (4)
5. How much pizza do I have if I have four fourths of a pizza? (a whole pizza)
6. What do you notice about these pieces? (They are cut into the same size-equal- parts/pieces.)
7. Do you think that may be an important clue? (yes)
8. Which piece of pizza would you rather have, the one cut into fourths or halves? (personal preference- some may not like pizza and want a smaller piece, so
probe to see is they want a larger or smaller piece.)
9. Which is larger- one half or one-quarter? (one half)
10. What is another name for one-quarter?(one-fourth)
11. When I write a fraction, who thinks they can tell me what the bottom number means? (How many equal pieces something has been cut into.)
12. Who thinks they can tell me what the top number means when I write a fraction? (How many parts I am talking about.)
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
1. Place the Guided Practice (click to open) sheet on the document camera so that each student can see what you are doing and give each student a copy.
2. Tell the students do not do anything yet, we are going to complete the paper together.
3. Say: (While coloring in one-half of the top circle) What fraction of the circle am I coloring in? (one-half)
4. Using an overhead clean overhead transparency (click to open), place it over your Guided Practice sheet that is being viewed. Color in the bottom circle so that one
or two parts are colored in- the parts should not be equal.
5. Ask: Does the colored in part of the bottom circle represent half of the circle? (No) Why not?(Because the two parts are not equal- the same size.)
6. Now you color in half of the top circle. (Circulate around to make sure they are only coloring in half of the circle.)
7. Instruct them to write halves next to the top circle as you are writing it on your sheet (remove the transparency.)
8. Divide the class into two sets- have the students flip their paper over to the other side (or go to the second copy) and have the first set color a fourth of the bottom
circle. Have the second set color a quarter of the bottom circle. (You color a fourth of the bottom circle on your copy and a quarter of the bottom circle on the front
page under the labeled half circle.)
9. Show them your circle that you colored that represents a quarter of the circle. Ask: Does everyone's circle look similar to this? (yes)
10. Ask/say:Do you mean all of you have circles that are similar to mine? How is that possible, some of you were suppose to color a quarter or your circle and the rest
a fourth of your circle. How can they look similar?
11. Show them your circle that you colored that represents a fourth of the circle. Repeat the above dialog.
12. Have them flip their papers back over and color in one-fourth or one-quarter of the circle.
13. Label the circle quarters and fourths- tell them to do the same thing.
14. Tell them to flip their paper back over. Ask them to divide the top circle into fourths/quarters.
15. Ask: How did you do that? (If you divide each half into halves again you get parts that are fourths/quarters.)
16. Ask: Do you think you can only do this with a circle, or do you think you can do this with a different shape, such as a rectangle? (Yes, you can take half of another
shape and divide it into halves to get fourths/quarters.)
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
As the students work, circulate around the room and assist as needed. Also use this time to stop and ask the guiding questions to ensure that the students are
understanding the concepts you want them to know.
1. Have the students take out their shapes they used earlier- the construction paper and the paper plate.
2. Ask the students if they think they divided each shape into the correct fractions- quarters for the plate and halves for the paper.
3. Tell them that if they think they need to correct their fractions, to now refold the shapes into the correct fractions- halves for the paper and fourths for the plate.
Using a different color, trace the new lines created from the folding.
4. Give each student a sheet of notebook paper and a construction paper circle.
5. Tell them to fold each shape into fourths/quarters. Unfold and using a crayon, mark the lines to clearly show that the shape has been divided into fourths/quarters.
6. Once they have done this, have them color half of each shape.
For additional independent practice, have them complete the homework activity (click to open). (The answers will be depend on each child but should match the
instructions for each section.
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
You could use this as a game time and give out tickets or some other reward (what ever you use in your classroom) during the last few minutes of class. (Make sure
page 2 of 4 you call on different students to answer.)
1. Say:Going back to the question of what part (half, a quarter, or a fourth) of dessert would you want, can you now tell me what size you would want and why? - You
probably are not going to be allowed that amount, but it would be nice.(Most will want the biggest part-a half.)
2. Fold a piece of notebook paper into four (not equal) pieces. Ask:
1. Is my paper folded into fourths?(no)
2. What do I need to do to for my paper to be folded into fourths?(It should be folded into four equal parts.)
3. Ask: What if I wanted to fold my paper into halves, what must I do? (Fold the paper into two equal parts/pieces)
4. Ask: What does it mean if I want a fraction of my paper to be written on? (It means to only write on a part of it.)
5. Ask: What do fourths, quarters, and halves represent? (They are fractions, or pieces/parts of a whole.)
6. Ask: Are quarters of something and fourths of a circle or square the same thing? (yes) How many parts make up a quarter or fourth of something? (4)
7. Ask: Can I change a half of something into a fourth/quarter? (yes) How? (You cut the half into two equal parts.)
8. Ask: How many halves of something do I need to make a whole? (2)
9. Ask:How many quarters of something do I need to make a whole? (4)
10. Ask: How many fourths of something do I need to make a whole? (4)
If I were going to continue with this lesson, or build on this lesson, I would take 1 minute to tell the students what we are going to be doing tomorrow.
Summative Assessment
Teachers will gain information during the Guided Practice, Independent Practice and Closure sections of the lesson to provide information on what a student
understands. A formal assessment (click to open) is attached. Correctly completing 5 out of 6 given directions indicates a strong understanding of the topic.
Formative Assessment
1. Give each student a piece of construction paper and a paper plate.
2. Have the students take out their "office walls." (This is two file folders that I have taped together to form a three sided wall that students can place on their desk to
give themselves privacy and to keep neighbors and themselves honest when desks are close together.)
3. Say:Who knows what a circle is?
4. Say: Place your circle so that it is on the top of the two shapes I gave you.(You should walk around so that you can see that every student understands what shape
a circle is.)
5. Say:Now I want everyone to place their rectangle on the top of the two shapes that you have on your desk. (Again circulate so that you know that all can identify
the rectangle.)
6. Have the students put away their "office walls" and to write their names on their two shapes.
7. Instruct the students to put their shapes to the side for a moment, but do not loose them.
Feedback to Students
During the Guided Practice, Independent Practice, and Closure sections of the lesson, circulate among the students watching, listening, and assisting when needed.
Insert the following questions during conversations with the students and correct any misconceptions when noticed.
1. If I divide a whole of something into four (4) pieces, does that mean I have 4 fourths of something?
2. If I divide a whole of something into two (2) pieces, does that mean I have divided the item into halves?
3. What does it mean when someone says they have a fraction of something? (It means they have an equal part of an item.)
4. What is another term I can that means the same as fourth? (quarter)
5. Can I change a half of something into a fourth? (Yes) How? (Divide the half into two equal parts.)
6. How many half pieces of something do I need to make a whole?(2)
7. How many fourths of something do I need to make a whole?(4)
8. How many quarters of something do I need to make a whole?(4)
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
For students needing extra help, I would allow them time to work with laminated shapes (click to open) that have been pre-cut into fourths/quarters and halves
(Use colored paper to make it more appealing). They could use the shapes to form wholes of the shapes independently or on a sheet with the shapes divided (see
the above sheet for divided shapes).
For students needing even more instruction, the pre-divided shapes could be colored in (click to open) and labeled so that the student can match the laminated
fraction shapes to the fraction.
The students could also use this (click to open) sheet in place of either independent practice or the homework activity.
Extensions:
For students that grasp the topic without difficulty and need more to keep them occupied, have them use Tangram (click to open)pieces to design larger shapes that
contain more parts. Have them draw their larger shape on grid paper and list how many equal parts each has.
Suggested Technology: Document Camera
Special Materials Needed:
Student Materials:
Construction paper- 1 piece per student
Paper plate- 1 per student
Construction paper circle- 1 per student
Notebook paper- 1 sheet per student
2 copies per student of the Guided practice sheet- you can give out one double-sided copy
page 3 of 4 Crayons
Homework sheet- one per student if you want them to do the activity
Summative assessment- 1 per student
Teacher materials:
1 sheet of construction paper
1 paper plate
Transparency
2 sheets of notebook paper
2 copies or 1 double-sided copy of the Guided practice sheet
Crayons or markers
Summative assessment key
Further Recommendations:
This lesson could be stretched to teach over two classes instead of one.
Have the students cut or draw their own rectangles and circles on/out of paper and fold or color them into specific fractions- halves, quarters, fourths.
Additional Information/Instructions
By Author/Submitter
This lesson addresses the following Mathematical Practice Standards: MAFS.K12.MP.1.1 (Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.), MAFS.K12.MP.2.1 (Reason
abstractly and quantitatively.)and MAFS.K12.MP.6.1 (Attend to precision.)
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Shannon Bauman
Name of Author/Source: Michael Lingenfelter
District/Organization of Contributor(s): FSU Lab School
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
MAFS.1.G.1.3:
Description
Partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares, describe the shares using the words halves, fourths, and
quarters, and use the phrases half of, fourth of, and quarter of. Describe the whole as two of, or four of the shares.
Understand for these examples that decomposing into more equal shares creates smaller shares.
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