Lesson 1

The purpose of this lesson is for students to make sense of unit fractions with denominators 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12, using physical and visual representations.

In grade 3, students were introduced to fractions as numbers. They learned to name and represent fractions, to recognize simple equivalent fractions, and to compare fractions with like numerators and denominators (limited to 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8). They used fraction strips, area diagrams, tape diagrams, and number lines to support their reasoning with fractions.

This lesson activates students’ prior knowledge of unit fractions and includes fractions with new denominators 5, 6, 10, and 12. Students revisit the meaning of numerator and denominator, name unit fractions, create representations for them, and recall some strategies and tools for reasoning about fractions.

The idea of equivalence may naturally come up (and will help to prepare students for upcoming work), but it is not the focus of this lesson.

• Each group of 2 needs 4 strips of equal-size paper (cut lengthwise from letter-size or larger paper or use the provided blackline master).

What did you learn about each student and their foundational understanding of fractions based on their work today?