Fractions Teaching Resources
Make math lesson planning a breeze with printable fractions worksheets, fun activities, games, and more teaching resources for the elementary classroom.
This collection of curriculum-aligned printable and digital resources has been created just for teachers by the teachers on the Teach Starter team. That means each resource has undergone an in-depth review before being published to ensure it's ready for the classroom and your students! Inside this collection, you'll find editable resources you can easily differentiate for individual learners plus math center activities and fun games to help students understand how to add and divide fractions and more.
New to teaching this section of the math curriculum? Read on for a guide to all things fractions from our teacher team!
What Are Fractions?
It may be basic, but we need to start somewhere! Fractions are, of course, mathematical expressions that represent a part of a whole or a ratio of two quantities. Fractions can be used to represent quantities that are not whole numbers, and they are an important part of arithmetic, algebra, and other areas of math that our students explore throughout their elementary and high school education.
Understanding numerators and denominators is an essential skill as students dive into adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions.
Next, let's dive into the most common topics we cover when we're teaching fractions!
Proper Fractions vs. Improper Fractions
Teaching fractions involves teaching students a lot of new vocabulary! Two terms your class will need to know early on in your lessons are:
- Proper Fractions: This is a fraction where the numerator (the top part) is less than the denominator (the bottom part). A proper fraction represents a value that is between 0 and 1. For example, 1/2 is a proper fraction because the numerator (1) is less than the denominator (2).
- Improper Fractions: This is a fraction where the numerator is greater than or equal to the denominator. An improper fraction represents a value that is greater than or equal to 1. For example, 3/2 is an improper fraction because the numerator (3) is greater than the denominator (2).
What Is a Unit Fraction?
We told you there was a lot of vocabulary involved! A unit fraction is a fraction whose numerator is 1 and whose denominator is a positive integer.
For example, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, etc., are all unit fractions. Unit fractions are also examples of proper fractions, as they are always less than 1 in value.
When working with unit fractions in your classroom, students learn to represent these fractions with visual models where one piece of a partitioned shape is shaded in. Students also learn to build larger fractions by grouping unit fractions together.
As an example, 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 = 3/8.
What Is the Least Common Multiple?
Working on fractions with your upper elementary students? You may be tackling the least common multiple this school year. So let's talk about what that means. The least common multiple is another important term to define before diving into adding, subtracting, or comparing fractions.
Sometimes called the LCM, the least common multiple of two or more numbers is the smallest positive integer that is divisible by all of the numbers.
In order to find the LCM of two or more numbers, you can teach students to use one of several methods, including:
- The prime factorization method
- The listing method
- The division method
How Do You Add Fractions?
Once students understand the basics of fractions, it's time to teach how they work in relation to the different operations. We'll start with addition.
To add two or more fractions, students will need to:
- Find a common denominator (also known as the least common denominator or LCD) that is a multiple of the denominators of all the fractions. A common denominator can be found by finding the least common multiple (LCM) of the denominators.
- Once students have found the common denominator, they need to learn to convert each fraction so that it has the same denominator as the others. This is done by multiplying both the numerator and denominator of each fraction by the same number so that the denominator is equal to the common denominator.
- After converting the fractions to have the same denominator, they can add the numerators of the converted fractions.
- The denominator will be the least common denominator that was found earlier.
How Do You Subtract Fractions?
Finding the sum of fractions is one thing, but how do students find the difference?
- Students will once again need to find a common denominator — a common multiple of the denominators of the fractions.
- Once they have found a common denominator, they can convert each fraction so that it has the same denominator as the others.
- After converting the fractions to have the same denominator, students can subtract the numerators of the converted fractions to find the numerator of the difference. The denominator of the difference will be the common denominator that they found earlier.
How Do You Multiply Fractions?
Once students have adding and subtracting fractions down, they might find that multiplying is a lot simpler!
To multiply two or more fractions, you simply multiply the numerators (the top parts) together to get the numerator of the product, and then multiply the denominators (the bottom parts) together to get the denominator of the product.
How Do You Divide Fractions?
It's time for one last operation! Dividing fractions is one of the more complicated processes elementary students will have to handle when it comes to working with fractions. They will need to know how to invert fractions before they can dive in, aka flipping the numerator and denominator.
To divide fractions, teach students to:
- Invert the second fraction.
- Multiply the two fractions.
- Simplify the quotient — if possible — by finding the greatest common factor of the numerator and denominator and dividing both by it, to get the final answer in simplest form.
How Do You Simplify Fractions?
Simplifying a fraction is pretty, well, simple! It means reducing it to its simplest form. To do this, students will find an equivalent fraction that has the same value but with a smaller numerator and denominator. The numerator and denominator of a simplified fraction have no common factors other than 1.
To simplify a fraction, you can divide both the numerator and denominator by their greatest common factor. You'll then need to keep dividing by the greatest common factor until it is equal to 1, which means that the fraction can't be simplified any further. And there you have it — a simplified fraction!
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Number Talks - Fraction Task Cards
Build fraction skills with this set of 30 task cards.
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Equivalent Fractions - Cookie Jar Sorting Activity
Review equivalent fractions with this whole-class sorting activity that gets students moving and simplifying!
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Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages – Task Cards
Practice converting percentages into decimals and fractions with this set of 24 task cards.
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Adding, Subtracting, Multiplying, and Dividing Fractions Anchor Charts
Display these fractions anchor charts in your classroom to remind your students how to perform operations with like and unlike fractions.
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Relating Decimals and Fractions Worksheet
Practice matching fractions with a denominator of 10 and 100 to decimals and vice versa.
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Least Common Multiple – Match-Up Activity
Determine the least common multiple of a set of numbers with this match-up activity.
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Least Common Multiple - Digital and Printable Worksheet
Find the least common multiple of a set of numbers with this worksheet.
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Adding and Subtracting Fractions Game
Use this adding and subtracting fractions game as a fun alternative to worksheets.
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Bobby's Board Games – Math Game Challenge
Challenge students to design and create a math board game.
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Calculating Discounts and Sale Price Teaching Slides
Teach your students how to calculate discounts and sale prices using fractions and decimals with this comprehensive teaching presentation.
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Pizza Fraction Bingo - 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5
32 different bingo cards using halves, thirds, fourths, and fifths.
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Adding and Subtracting Fractions Math Investigation
Immerse your students in all things fractions with this math project based around a real-world scenario.
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Fraction, Decimal, and Percentage Bingo
Convert between fractions, decimals and percentages with this engaging Bingo game the whole class can enjoy!
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Subtracting Unlike Fractions Word Problems Task Cards
Use this set of word problems for subtracting fractions with unlike denominators to help your students practice this important math skill.
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Subtracting Like Fractions Word Problems Task Cards
Use this set of subtracting fractions with like denominators word problems to help your students put their fraction computation skills into practice!
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Adding Like Fractions Word Problems Task Cards
Use this set of adding fractions with like denominators word problems to help your students put their fraction computation skills into practice!
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Composing and Decomposing Fractions Task Cards
Get your students composing and decomposing fractions with this set of task cards perfect for math centers.
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Decomposing Fractions Matching Game
Get your students decomposing fractions with this fun matching game for 4th graders!
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Subtracting Fractions With Like Denominators Task Cards
Get your students subtracting fractions with like denominators using this set of task cards focusing on a variety of strategies.
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Introduction to Unit Fractions Worksheet Pack
Introduce your students to unit fractions with this set of teacher-created worksheets.
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Unit Fractions Clip Cards
Practice unit fractions with this set of unit fraction clip cards ready to use in the classroom.
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Unit Fraction Interactive Notebook Template
Engage students in a fun unit fraction activity to stick in their math workbooks using this interactive mini flipbook templates.
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Identify Unit Fractions Worksheets
Color the different fraction units to show different unit fractions with this set of worksheets perfect for your budding mathematicians.
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Unit Fraction Mini Book
Explore unit fractions with your students using this fun printable mini book.
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Unit Fraction Fairy Bread Matching Activity
Sort and match fairy bread model cards to the corresponding unit fraction cards.
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Unit Fraction Sorting Activity
Explore different images of unit fractions with your students in this unit fraction sorting activity with fraction word and fraction heading cards.
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Unit Fraction Matching Game
Match up different visuals of simple unit fractions to help students understand this mathematical concept.
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Identifying Unit Fractions Interactive Clip Cards
Explore unit fractions in a variety of contexts with this set of interactive clip cards.
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Unit Fraction Interactive Task Cards
Engage your students with their learning of unit fractions using this set of interactive task cards ready to be used today!
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Unit Fraction Task Cards
Explore all there is to know about Unit Fractions with this set of unit fraction task cards, perfect for math rotations.
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Unit Fractions Interactive Activity
Explore everything there is to know about unit fractions with your students using this engaging interactive activity.
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Unit Fractions Roll and Cover Activity
Explore unit fractions with this fun partner game for math rotations in the classroom.