Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 3

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

• Identify and name halves (1/2), thirds (1/3), and quarters (1/4).
• Show these fractions using diagrams and objects.
• Solve simple sharing problems with fractions.
• Compare which fractions are bigger or smaller.

Lesson summary

This lesson introduces Grade 3 learners to the foundational concept of fractions. Fractions are a crucial part of mathematics that we use every day, often without even thinking about it. In South Africa, the concept of sharing (ubuntu) is central to our communities. Understanding fractions helps us to share fairly, whether it's a bag of oranges from a street vendor, a loaf of bread at home, or pieces of a birthday cake at a party. This lesson will use practical, hands-on examples to demystify fractions, showing learners that they are simply a way of talking about equal parts of a whole object or a whole group.

Lesson notes

What is a Fraction? A fraction tells us about a part of a whole. The most important word to remember is EQUAL. For something to be a fraction, the whole must be divided into equal parts. Imagine you have one big, round vetkoek. If you cut it into two pieces, but one piece is big and one is small, that is not halves. If you cut it into two perfectly equal pieces, then each piece is a fraction called one half. Halves (1/2) When we divide one whole object or group into two equal parts, each part is called one half. We write it as 1/

2. The bottom number (the denominator) tells us how many equal pieces the whole is cut into (2). The top number (the numerator) tells us how many of those pieces we are talking about (1).