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Features

Count the equal parts from 0 to 1 and write the unit fraction at the first mark
Draw marks under a fraction strip to cut a number line into equal parts
Write a fraction at every mark from 0 to 1 and see that 4/4, 6/6 and 8/8 are 1
Name the fractions at lettered points, and circle the fraction at a dot
Draw a dot at a fraction by counting jumps of one part from 0
Keep counting past 1 on lines to 2 and 3, write whole numbers as fractions and solve two stories
Every page in color and in black and white
Answer keys included

Skills Covered

Cut the space from 0 to 1 into equal parts
Place a unit fraction 1/b on a number line
Label every mark from 0 to 1 with a fraction

Name the fraction at a point
Place a fraction a/b by counting a jumps of 1/b from 0
Find fractions greater than 1 and whole numbers on a number line

How to Use This Pack

Five pages on fractions on a number line, each with a worked example where it helps. On page 1 students count the equal parts from 0 to 1 and write the unit fraction at the first mark (one line goes on to 2, so the parts are counted from 0 to 1 only), then use a fraction strip to draw the marks on a line that has none. Page 2 has five number lines to label at every mark, from 0/4 to 4/4, with an equation that shows the last fraction is 1. Page 3 names the fractions at lettered points, then has students circle the fraction at a dot from three choices. On page 4 students start at 0 and jump one part at a time to draw a dot at the fraction, and write how many jumps of which unit fraction they made. Page 5 goes past 1: label lines to 2 and 3, write 8/4 and 6/2 as whole numbers, name points greater than 1, and solve two stories about a path and a snail.

In the Classroom

Tape a long strip of paper on the floor or the board and mark 0 and 1 at its ends. Fold a paper strip of the same length into fourths, lay it along the line, and mark each fold: the first mark is 1/4 because it is one part of four from 0. Have students walk the line and count out loud, one fourth, two fourths, three fourths, four fourths, and say where four fourths lands. Do the same with thirds before page 1 and keep going past 1 before page 5.

At Home

Draw a line on a long strip of paper, write 0 at one end and 1 at the other, and fold it into halves, fourths and eighths. Mark the folds and name each mark together. Use a measuring tape or a ruler to find halves and fourths of an inch, and talk about how 4/4 of an inch is a whole inch.

Tips for Success

The whole is the space from 0 to 1, not the whole line
Count the spaces between the marks, not the marks themselves
The denominator tells how many equal parts are between 0 and 1
The numerator tells how many parts to count from 0
When the numerator and denominator are the same, the fraction is at 1

Common Core Standards Alignment

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

3.NF.A.1 Know 1/b is one of b equal parts of a whole, and a/b is a of those parts (denominators 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8).
3.NF.A.2a Mark 1/b on a number line by splitting the space from 0 to 1 into b equal parts; the first part ends at 1/b.
3.NF.A.2b Place a/b on a number line by counting a jumps of size 1/b from 0; where the jumps end is a/b.
3.NF.A.3a Know that two fractions are equal when they cover the same amount of a whole or land at the same spot on a number line.
3.NF.A.3b Find and make simple equal fractions, such as 3/6 = 1/2, and use a picture or model to show why they match.
3.NF.A.3c Show a whole number in fraction form and notice when a fraction names a whole number, such as 2 = 2/1 or 8/4 = 2.
3.G.A.2 Divide shapes into parts of equal area and describe each part with a unit fraction, such as 1/6 of the shape.
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.

Fractions on a Number Line

3rd Grade

Fractions as numbers on a number line, from unit fractions between 0 and 1 to fractions greater than 1. Students cut the space from 0 to 1 into equal parts, label every mark, name and plot points by counting jumps from 0, and write whole numbers as fractions.

Download PDF

What’s Included

5 worksheets in color and in black and white, with answer keys (15 pages)
Unit fractions on number lines and drawing equal parts from a strip
Labeling every mark, naming points and plotting fractions with jumps
Fractions greater than 1, whole numbers as fractions and two stories

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