Five pages on comparing fractions with the benchmarks 0, 1/2 and 1. Page 1 has ten shaded bars and circles, each with its fraction: students circle whether each shaded amount is closest to 0, 1/2 or 1, with a worked example first. Page 2 has number lines from 0 to 1: students mark four fractions with a dot and write the fraction at three dots, then circle the closest benchmark on each line. Page 3 finds half of the denominator to decide whether a fraction is more or less than 1/2, then sorts ten fractions with small bar models into two boxes. Page 4 has fourteen comparisons like 3/8 and 1/2 or 5/5 and 1 to finish with <, > or =. Page 5 looks at real things (a glass 7/8 full, a pizza with 1/8 left, a turtle 5/10 of the way along a path and a battery 2/5 charged), then sorts nine fractions into close to 0, close to 1/2 and close to 1.
Before page 1, draw a long number line from 0 to 1 on the board and mark 1/2. Hold up fraction strips or paper circles and ask the class to point to the benchmark each one is closest to. On page 3, ask students to say the rule out loud: if the numerator is less than half of the denominator, the fraction is less than 1/2. Page 5 makes a good talk: what else in the room is about empty, about half or almost full?
Look for fractions in everyday things: a glass of juice, a pizza after dinner, a phone battery, a walk to the park. Ask your child whether each one is closer to empty, half or full, and how they know. Cut a sandwich or a tortilla into equal parts, eat some, and decide whether what is left is closest to 0, 1/2 or 1.
This pack supports the following Common Core State Standards for Mathematics:
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A 5-page benchmark fractions pack for 3rd grade. Decide whether a shaded bar or circle is closest to 0, 1/2 or 1, mark and read fractions on number lines from 0 to 1, and find half of the denominator to tell whether a fraction is more or less than 1/2. Compare fractions with 0, 1/2 and 1 using <, > and =, then think about a glass 7/8 full, a pizza with 1/8 left and a path 5/10 walked, and sort fractions into close to 0, close to 1/2 and close to 1. Every page comes in color and in black and white. Answer keys included.
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