5-To-10-Minute Math Activities Worksheets & Activity Sheets
Fraction Puzzles
Use four posterboards of different colors to make fraction puzzles. Cut one posterboard in half, one in thirds, and one in fourths. Put a whole posterboard in the middle of a circle of children. Give the two pieces of posterboard to two children and ask them to complete the “halves” puzzle. Give the three pieces of posterboard to another two children to assemble the “thirds” puzzle, and the four pieces to two more children to finish the “fourths” puzzle. Create smaller puzzles and put them in the math center for children to continue to explore fractions.
Fractions Words
Write the phrase “Fractions Words” on a posterboard and hang it in the math center. For two or three weeks, spend two minutes before each formal math lesson discussing words that help us talk about parts and wholes: divide, equal, fraction, share, whole, half, third, fourth, part, whole. Each day choose one word, talk about it, write it on an index card, and ask a volunteer to post the card on the Fractions Words poster.
WORKSHEET & Sample PDF Activity
Sample PDF Activity
Half of Half of Half
Give one child a piece of 11- by 17-inch paper. Have the child fold the sheet in half, cut it apart, then hand the other half to another child. Next, have both children fold their sheets in half again, cut them apart, and hand the other halves to other children. Have children continue doing the activity until every child in the class has a piece of paper. Challenge children to figure out what fraction of the original sheet of paper each child got. Are there any leftover pieces of paper?
Sharing Snacks
Have each child share a snack with a partner by dividing the snack into two equal parts. Begin with a snack that can easily be divided into two: bananas, oranges, pears, apples, or an even number of cookies or crackers. Build up to more complex snacks, such as trail mix, snack mix, or dry cereal.
One Half and One Half Equal One
Provide a collection of plastic or wooden rods. Ask children to work together to find two of the same-length rod that, when joined together, equal the length of one long rod. On other days, repeat this same exploration with string, ribbon, and paper strips.
Symmetry Halves
Have children fold a paper in half and paint on one-half of the paper. Have them carefully refold the paper so that the paint covers both sides. Open the paper very carefully and let it dry before posting to show the symmetrical fractions created on the two halves of the paper.
Literacy Links
Eating Fractions by Bruce McMillan (Scholastic, 1991).
Through photographs of two boys sharing different foods, McMillan demonstrates fractions. First showing the food as a whole (banana, muffin, pizza, corn on the cob, pear salad, and strawberry pie), subsequent photos show the food as it is cut into halves, quarters, and thirds. Recipes are included in the back of the book.
Try This!
Have small groups of children decide which fraction they are going to use to divide their snack of bananas and muffins.
The Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar Fractions Book by Jerry Pallotta and Robert C. Bolster (Cartwheel Books, 1999).
A Hershey’s chocolate bar, which is made up of 12 rectangles, lends itself to exploring the concept of fractions. This book leads the reader through each fraction.
Try This!
Use Hershey chocolate bars as manipulatives (or same-size rectangles cut from brown card stock) and explore equivalent fractions such as six-twelfths equals one-half, and so on.
