Equivalent fractions are an important skill to introduce to your students prior to teaching them how to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators. This can be challenging at first. If you teach them to create equivalent fractions using digital visual models, they’ll have the opportunity to interact with the fraction models and truly “see” them concretely.
The easiest way to do this is to draw a rectangular fraction model, shading in the number of pieces indicated by the fraction. Then, practice splitting the rectangular fraction into several different numbers of rows. See the video below for an example.
Introduce this to your students using my FREE Equivalent Fractions Digital Slides.
The slides include a tutorial video as well as blank slides for fraction models from halves to twelfths. You can create any fraction within those slides and find the first five fraction equivalents using the template.
Use the slides for:
- mini-lessons
- student notes prior to teaching adding/subtracting fractions
- small groups/centers
- a tool students can use while working on assignments in which they need to create equivalent fractions
Once they have a firm grasp on creating equivalent fractions using digital visual models, your students will be able to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators.
Looking for More Information and Resources for Fractions?
Blog Posts
- Adding and Subtracting Fractions
- Adding and Subtracting Mixed Numbers
- Multiplying Fractions
- Dividing Fractions
- Equivalent Fractions
- Introducing Fractions
- Simplifying Fractions
- Improper Fractions and Mixed Numbers
