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Features

Shade fraction strips to add and subtract fractions in stories
Jump on number lines to add and subtract mixed numbers
Label tape diagrams to find a missing part or compare two amounts
Multiply a whole number by a fraction with equal-group tape diagrams
Name the two whole numbers a product is between
Choose to add, subtract or multiply, then show it on a number line
Every page in color and in black and white
Answer keys included

Skills Covered

Solve story problems that add and subtract fractions with like denominators
Add and subtract mixed numbers in stories on a number line
Use a tape diagram to find a missing part or a difference

Solve story problems that multiply a fraction by a whole number
Write an equation for a story and answer with a fraction or a mixed number
Tell which two whole numbers an answer is between

How to Use This Pack

Five pages of fraction story problems, six stories a page, each with a model, a line for an equation and an answer box. Page 1 adds and subtracts fractions on fraction strips: students shade the first amount and then the second, or shade the start and cross out what is taken. Page 2 adds and subtracts mixed numbers on number lines, jumping 1 whole at a time and then the fraction. Page 3 uses tape diagrams for stories with a missing part (Tom pours 1/10 liter into a jar that now holds 8/10 liter) and for comparing (how much longer is a 3 5/8 foot ribbon than a 1 2/8 foot one). Page 4 multiplies a whole number by a fraction with equal-group tape diagrams, like 4 cats that each eat 2/5 can of food, and asks which two whole numbers the answer is between. Page 5 mixes the three: students decide whether to add, subtract or multiply and show it on a number line. The keys write one equation for each story; others can be right too.

In the Classroom

Read one story aloud and ask what the numbers stand for before anyone computes. Then have pairs draw the model on a whiteboard and explain how it matches the story, before they write the equation. For page 4, act out a story with paper strips: give 4 students 2/5 of a strip each, then put the pieces end to end to see 8/5, or 1 3/5 strips.

At Home

Make up stories from everyday things: 3/4 cup of milk in pancakes and 2/4 cup in a smoothie, or 5 days of 1/2 hour of piano practice. Ask your child to draw a strip or a number line for each one and to say whether the answer is more or less than 1.

Tips for Success

Read the whole story first and decide what the question asks for
The model should match the story: the same parts, the same whole
With like denominators, add or subtract the numerators and keep the denominator
A whole number times a fraction is equal groups: 4 × 2/5 is 2/5 + 2/5 + 2/5 + 2/5
Check the answer: is it a sensible size, and is it between the right whole numbers?

Common Core Standards Alignment

This pack supports the following Common Core State Standards for Mathematics:

4.NF.B.3a Understand adding and subtracting fractions as joining and taking away parts of the same whole.
4.NF.B.3c Add and subtract mixed numbers with the same denominator, for example by changing them to fractions or by using properties of operations.
4.NF.B.3d Solve story problems that add or subtract fractions of the same whole with like denominators, using fraction models and equations.
4.NF.B.4a See a fraction a/b as a copies of 1/b, such as 7/3 = 7 × (1/3), and show it with a fraction model.
4.NF.B.4b Find a whole number times a fraction by counting unit fractions: 4 × (2/3) is 8 copies of 1/3, which is 8/3.
4.NF.B.4c Solve story problems with a whole number times a fraction, using models and equations, and name the two whole numbers the answer falls between.
4.MD.B.4 Make a line plot of measurements in halves, quarters and eighths, and use it to solve problems that add and subtract fractions.

Fraction Word Problems

4th Grade

Story problems that add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers with like denominators, and multiply a fraction by a whole number. Students show each story with fraction strips, number lines or tape diagrams, write an equation, and give the answer as a fraction or a mixed number.

Download PDF

What’s Included

5 worksheets in color and in black and white, with answer keys (15 pages)
30 story problems, each with a model and an equation
Fraction strips, number lines and tape diagrams
Adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions and mixed numbers

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