Fractions
Year 3 fractions move from naming a fraction of a shape to finding a fraction of an amount, counting in tenths, and recognising when two fractions are equivalent.
Practise Fractions
Have a guess, even if you're not sure. Get one wrong and we'll show you why, so every miss is a chance to learn.
Timed practice
The same practice, just with a gentle clock. Pick a length and see how many you can answer.
Good to know
Every bar below is the same whole, just split into more and more equal pieces.
For grown-ups
Children also compare, order and add fractions that share the same bottom number. Every question uses a clear picture, so your child can see the fraction as well as work it out, which is what makes the idea stick.
What is in this topic
- Finding a fraction of a shape
- Finding a fraction of an amount
- Counting up and down in tenths
- Recognising equivalent fractions
- Comparing, ordering and adding fractions
How to help your child with them
Fractions click fastest when they are something to see and share, not just numbers, so keep it hands-on and little and often.
- Cut up real things. Halve a pizza, quarter a sandwich, share grapes into equal piles. A fraction is just how many equal parts you have made and how many you took.
- Find a fraction of an amount one step at a time. For 3/4 of 12, share 12 into 4 equal groups to get 3 in each, then take 3 of those groups: 12 divided by 4 is 3, times 3 is 9.
- Count out loud in tenths, like 1/10, 2/10, 3/10, up to ten tenths and back down again, so they feel that ten tenths make one whole.
- Lean on the fraction wall to compare. The more equal parts you cut a whole into, the smaller each piece, so 1/4 is less than 1/3 even though 4 is the bigger number.
Where children get stuck
The most common trip-up is thinking a bigger bottom number means a bigger fraction. Because 4 is more than 3, children expect 1/4 to be more than 1/3, when it is actually less. The fraction wall fixes this in seconds: the more pieces you slice a whole into, the smaller each piece, so 1/4 sits clearly shorter than 1/3.
The other wobble is adding the bottom numbers too, turning 5/7 + 1/7 into 6/14. Remind them the bottom number just names the size of the piece, and that size does not change. If the pieces are sevenths, 5 of them plus 1 more is simply 6 of them, so the answer is 6/7.