Fractions, step by step
Everything a Grade 4 needs to know about fractions, with a picture for every rule. Read one step, play with it, then tap “I understand this”.
A fraction is an equal part of a whole
When you cut something into parts that are all the same size, each part is a fraction of the whole thing. If the parts are not the same size, they are not fractions.
First check: are all the parts the same size? Only then can you name the fraction.
Equal or not equal?
Look at each shape and tap the right button.
A fraction is a fair share. If you cut a pizza into 4 and one piece is bigger, whoever gets the big piece has more than a quarter. Then “one quarter” no longer tells you how much you have.
The top number and the bottom number
We say it as four sixths. The 2 white parts are 26, two sixths. Together they make the whole: 46 + 26 = 66 = 1.
The numerator numbers how many parts you have. The denominator is down at the bottom and names the parts: 6 at the bottom means sixths.
Read 15 as “one fifth”. “One out of five” tells you how you got it, but the fraction’s name is one fifth. And 34 is “three quarters”.
Build your own fraction
Choose how many equal parts, then tap the parts to shade them.
Fraction names you must know
In Grade 4 you work with halves up to eighths. The bigger the denominator, the more pieces, so each piece is smaller.
| Equal parts | One part | In words | Picture |
|---|
Name that fraction
What is the shaded part called? Get 5 in a row.
Three ways to show a fraction
The same fraction can look different. Your test can use any of these: part of a shape, a point on a number line, or part of a group.
One fraction, three pictures
Use the + and − buttons. All three pictures change together.
Part of a group: if 6 of the 8 balls are yellow, then 68 are yellow. That is the same amount as 34, because the 8 balls make 4 equal groups of 2, and 3 of those groups are yellow.
Fractions on a number line
A number line from 0 to 1 is one whole. Cut it into equal jumps. The number of jumps between 0 and 1 is the denominator. Count jumps from 0 to find the numerator.
The arrow is 3 jumps from 0, and there are 5 jumps in the whole. So it points to 35.
Going past 1
Keep counting in quarters after 1 and you get 54, 64 and so on. 54 is one whole and one more quarter, which we write as the mixed number 114.
When the numerator and denominator are the same, the fraction is one whole: 44 = 1, 88 = 1.
Put it on the line
Which fraction is bigger?
Same bottom number
If the denominators are the same, the bigger numerator wins: 58 > 38. You have more of the same-size pieces.
Same top number
If the numerators are the same, the smaller denominator wins: 12 > 14 > 18. Share a pizza between 2 people and the slices are bigger than between 8.
A bigger denominator does not mean a bigger fraction. 18 is smaller than 14, even though 8 is bigger than 4.
> means greater than, < means less than, = means equal to. The crocodile’s open mouth always eats the bigger fraction.
The fraction scale
Change both fractions. The strips and the sign show which one is bigger.
Ordering
Smallest to biggest (ascending order): 18, 15, 13, 12. Biggest to smallest (descending order) is the same list turned around.
Order them
Tap the fractions from the smallest to the biggest.
The fraction wall and equivalent fractions
Every row of the wall is one whole, cut into a different number of equal pieces. Pieces that end in the same place are the same length. Fractions that show the same amount are called equivalent fractions.
The fraction wall
Tap any piece. The wall lights up everything with the same length.
12 = 24 = 48 13 = 26 34 = 68
Cut every piece in half and you get twice as many pieces. The amount stays the same: 12 becomes 24.
Cut the pieces smaller
Tap “Cut every piece in half”. Watch the fraction change while the yellow amount stays the same.
Adding and taking away fractions
In Grade 4 you add and subtract fractions with the same denominator. The pieces are already the same size, so you only count pieces.
Add (or subtract) the top numbers. Keep the bottom number the same.
Never add the bottom numbers. 15 + 35 is not 410. Look at the picture: the pieces are still fifths.
The fraction adding machine
Choose plus or minus and change the numbers. The strips do the sum for you.
The denominator is the name of the pieces, not a count. 1 fifth + 3 fifths = 4 fifths, just like 1 apple + 3 apples = 4 apples. The pieces stay fifths: they don’t get smaller because you have more of them.
A fraction of an amount
To find a fraction of a number of things, share them into equal groups. The denominator tells you how many groups.
One part: 14 of 12
12 sweets shared into 4 equal groups gives 3 in each group. So 14 of 12 = 12 ÷ 4 = 3.
More parts: 34 of 12
Divide by the bottom, times by the top.
The sharing machine
Pick the fraction and how many sweets in each group, then tap “Share them out”.
Word problems
Grouping: Each soccer player gets half an apple. How many apples do 18 players need? Two players share one apple, so 18 ÷ 2 = 9 apples.
Sharing: Gran has 20 biscuits and Lindiwe gets 15 of them. 20 ÷ 5 = 4 biscuits.
Look out for the word “of”. 13 of 15 means: share 15 into 3 equal groups.
The denominator says how many equal groups the whole amount is shared into. One group is one part. Then you take as many groups as the numerator says.
Check yourself
- A fraction is part of a whole cut into equal parts.
- Denominator (bottom): how many parts the whole is cut into. Numerator (top): how many parts we have.
- Bigger denominator = smaller pieces: 18 < 14.
- Same denominator? Add only the numerators. The denominator stays the same.
- 34 of 12: divide by the denominator (12 ÷ 4 = 3), times the numerator (3 × 3 = 9).
Write these points in your maths book. Read them again the night before the test.
6 quick questions
Tap an answer. If you get one wrong, read why and go back to that step. You get new numbers every time.
You ticked all 9 steps! Now you are ready for the fractions quiz.- Practice sheet for this classQuestions + memo · 2 A4 pagesPractice sheet
- Numbers14 pages · PDFPaperMemo
Ready for more? The Grade 4 fractions quiz gives you new numbers every time, with a memo for every answer.
- One step a day is enough. Ten calm minutes work better than an hour the night before the test.
- Ask your child to tell you the rule in their own words. If they can explain it, they understand it.
- Use food: cut a sandwich or a pizza into equal parts and ask: “What fraction did you eat?”
- The ticks (“I understand this”) are saved on this device only. We never ask for names or emails.
Follows CAPS for Grade 4 Maths. Always check your teacher’s notes and textbook too.