This activity will help your child develop an understanding of one
whole and the parts that make up one whole. Try to use the language
that is highlighted in the steps below since these are key words that
your child will be hearing and speaking in school.
By using real world materials with your math activities you reinforce
the concept of math being all around us.
Step
You and your child
Buy a pie (or pizza or cake) and
introduce the word whole.
"This is one whole pie.
We are going to cut it in half first."
Cut
the pie in half.
"Now we have two
halves."
"Let's push them back together."
Put the pie together again.
"What do we have now?" "One
whole." "Good."
Take apart again
"This is one half and
this is one half. Two
halves equal
one whole."
Cut the pie into four pieces.
"Now we have four quarters. Four
quarters equals one whole."
"What
if we take two of the quarters and put
them back together, how many halves would we
get?"
Take two of the quarters and
put them back together.
"How many halves do we
get?" "One."
"Two quarters equals to one
half."
Build on this
activity - Have pizza for dinner and cake too (with a large dose
of exercise as well!). As
your child builds his or her word bank of fractions, continue
to cut the food into smaller fractions. e.g sixths
and tenths. Draw
attention to how the pieces are getting smaller.
Note: Check with your child's school and teachers about whether
the term "quarters" or "fourths" are used since different parts
of the world use different terminology.
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The above math activity was created by Diane Massie, a HelpingWithMath.com
contributor. It is part of her Handling Math program.
First hand experiences brings mastery of a skill and concept.
