The Gator Pie Game
Help the Gators share the pies.
What you need
Pie drawings
Alligator cut-outs
Cards (only the numbers 1- 8)
Markers
Scissors
What to do
1. Choose a card to see how many gators are to share the pie.
2. 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.)
3. Choose another card. This is how many new gators come to share that pie.
4. Will you have to cut the pie in order for each gator to have the same amount?
Show how you will share it.
5. Tell how much of the pie each gator will get.
6. 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?
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.
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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?
To learn more
Gator Pie
by Louise Matthews
Two gators find a pie and decide to share it equally among each other. Just as they
are about to eat it, two more gators emerge from the forest. Then they must divide
again. Then more and more alligators come, until finally they are sharing the pie
among 100 gators!
Eating Fractions
by Bruce McMillan
Food is cut into halves, quarters and thirds to illustrate how parts make a whole.
Math was never so much fun or so wholesomely delicious. Recipes and suggestions
for how children can use their new math skills to measure ingredients and prepare
these kid-tested treats are included.
How it helps with school
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Standards
Number, Operations and Quantitative Reasoning: 3.2; 4.2A; 5.2A
Underlying Processes and Mathematical Tools: 3.15, 3.17B; 4.14, 4.16B; 5.14, 5.16B
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards
Number and Operations, Problem Solving, Representation
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The Gator Pie Game
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Ex
M
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Mo
ments
Path
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t
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MaGnific
93
The Gator Pie Game
Mobil
xon
Ex
M
at
h
Mo
ments
Path
ath
M
94
t
en
MaGnific
The Gator Pie Game
Mobil
xon
Ex
M
at
h
Mo
ments
Path
ath
M
t
en
MaGnific
95
The Gator Pie Game
Mobil
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Ex
M
at
h
Mo
ments
Path
ath
M
96
t
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MaGnific