Fractions are an incredibly abstract concept and are often a real stumbling block for students. We have to be super careful to help students develop “fraction sense,” which is a specific type of number sense. We do that by using a variety of manipulatives to help students visualize the meaning of fractions.
This post contains affiliate links, which simply means that when you use my link and purchase a product, I receive a small commission. There is no additional cost to you, and I only link to books and products that I personally use and recommend.
I’ve got a cute little set of fraction cards for you today. Here are some ideas for their use:
- FRACTION WAR Divide the cards between the players. Each player turns over a card. Players use the fraction strip chart or manipulatives to determine the largest fraction. The player with the largest fraction takes all the cards. If the fractions are equivalent, the cards stay on the table until the next round. The player with the most cards at the end of the game wins.
- EQUIVALENT FRACTIONS MEMORY Pull out 6 pair of equivalent fractions (12 cards total). Players arrange the cards in a 3 x 4 array. On a turn, a player turns over two cards. If the fractions are equivalent, the player keeps the cards. If they are not equivalent, the player turns them back face down. The player with the most pairs at the end of the game wins. Use the fraction strips chart or manipulatives for support.
- 0, 1/2, 1 SORT Having benchmarks of 0, 1/2, and 1 is an important understanding for fractions. For example, is 4/5 closer to 0, 1/2, or 1? For this activity, students will choose a card and use manipulatives, number lines, or the fraction strip chart to determine if the fraction is closer to 0, 1/2, or 1.
- SIMPLIFY IT Students choose a card and reduce the fraction to simplest form. This can be done pictorially using the fraction strips chart.
Click here to grab your FREE cards and fraction strip chart! After you download it, be sure to leave a comment about how you’ll use this in your classroom. 🙂
If you’re looking for workstation activities for teaching fractions, be sure to take a peek at my fraction resources.
I will use these in a station during math workshop when we begin the unit on fractions (5th grade). Thanks so much for sharing!
Sounds perfect! Thanks for leaving a comment. 🙂
Donna
I have been following your post for a few months and I have to say I am very impressed with the ideas you share with educators. I look forward to reading and learning more from you in the future.
Carrie
Thanks so much, Carrie! Glad you find my ramblings useful. 🙂
I am going to be starting fractions soon with my students. Thank you for the ideas!!
Jessica
Apples and Papers
You’re welcome, Jessica! Your blog is super cute, and I’m a new follower. 🙂
Donna, you continue to amaze me! I am going to use it in small group with my teacher assistant for students that are in need of remediation. The best thing is they won’t know they are being remediated. I think this is going to be a wonderful game. Thanks for always helping us out!
My pleasure, Althea! I think the visual of the fractions strip chart will really help your strugglers. 🙂
I will use it for both remediation and in stations after we do our fraction unit! This will definitely help in 5th grade (I teach 4th!) I am sharing this site with my team and my campus! I have some closet math nerds on my cmapus….we are the minority, but we are there! 🙂 Thanks for the great information and the manipulatives!!!!
Come out of the closet! NOW! Ha ha.
I plan to use these cards with 2 children who have been exploring fractions and decimals. To begin with we will take a selection of cards and order them, using the fraction strip for reference. Later we’ll try the fraction war game. This should be easy to introduce as we have already played money war. These children are Grade 2 and this is an extension activity for them.
Right, War is a great game for so many concepts. It would be interesting to see if they notice the connection between the fraction strip of tenths and decimals.
Thank you for sharing! Can’t wait to let my kids try these games!
You’re welcome! I hope the kiddos love them. 🙂
Thanks so much for these!
Shibahn
You’re welcome, Shibahn! 🙂
Thank you so much for these. Fraction tiles are so expensive and these will work just as nicely!
Right! And fraction tiles don’t have the number line for a reference.
These are just what I was looking for! Thanks for sharing! We are going to do a fraction line up with the class to put the fractions in order. We also will use them in small groups to round to benchmarks and play games.
Glad to hear that they’ll be useful for you! I love the fraction line up idea. 🙂
We plan to start fractions when we come back from Winter Break! These will be great in my math centers!
Thank you!
Glad the timing worked out so well for you! 🙂
Looking forward to fraction war!
EmilyK
Gotta love a good game of war! 🙂
Love your ideas….thanks for sharing! I’ll probably use first to have them compare fractions, along with using your strips, and then some type of game, like memory or war! Happy New Year!
Happy NY to you, too!! Sounds like a great plan! The strips are such a good visual for them to really deeply understand the meaning of the fractions.
This was a fantastic resource for my students. I can’t wait to put them as stations in my classroom. It prepares students in such a fun way that many concepts can be taught through games. Thank you!
Thanks for the sweet comment! Glad your kiddos liked it. 🙂
I have been using these as centers for the past week to review and keep it fresh with my 6th grade and will use them again for my fifth grade when they get there. Thanks for the freebie! I really appreciate the work that went into this. With a combined classroom, I don’t have any extra time to make anything!
I’m so glad it’s been helpful! Thanks so much for letting me know. 🙂
This will be a great review game for my third graders during our rotations time! Thanks.
My pleasure! 🙂
Thanks for making these, can I say TIMESAVER!
Yes, you can!! Ha ha. Glad they saved you some time. 🙂
Great addition to our math centers!!!
Hope the kiddos love them!
Downloaded these fraction cards/strips. We are working on fractions right now, and I have been looking for some additional learning games to play in our stations…can’t wait to use them in class!
Great! I’m glad they came at a good time for you, Lesley! 🙂
We have just started working with fractions. These will be a great addition for the students to practice what they have learned.
I’m so glad you think they will be useful to you and your kiddos, Hazel! 🙂
Thank you so much…these make lovely cards that I’m excited to use for review of our fraction unit. You’re blog looks amazing and I will be visiting often!!
Thanks, Mary!! I appreciate your kind words. 🙂
I am working on fractions now in my fourth grade class. Can’t wait to use this center activity.
Oh good!! Glad it was right on time. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Christine
Math Central
My pleasure, Christine! 🙂
I love all your resources! I’m trying so hard to make math fun for my students and your products help. I LOVE the fraction visual! Another idea I have seen is to make that by layering pieces of construction paper on top of each other, stapling them together, and cutting the pieces into halfs, fourths, etc. The papers are all different sizes so you can see all the fractions at once. I don’t know if that made any sense! This is much easier, though. 🙂
It made total sense! It’s a flip book, of sorts. Great idea!
I am in the middle of a education practicum right now and I am starting a grade 5 unit in fractions on Wednesday. I really want to be able to use fun educational games like this in the unit.
Sounds perfect!
I am currently student teaching and am teaching in 4th grade. I used this source for many different things in association with 4.NF.3a-d (math). I used the cards to create addition and subtraction problems for the students to use and they modeled their fractions on a number line with boxes. I used the fraction strips in many lessons to show either mixed numbers where I attached 4 width wise and laminated them allowing the students to color the fraction parts in a mixed number and improper fraction and go between the two. I also used them to model decomposing fractions into unit fractions. Great resources!!!
Thanks so much! I’m delighted to hear you were able to use them in so many different ways. 🙂
Perfect, as our 3rd graders are working on a fraction unit right now; this will be a big help, I think. Thanks so much!
Woo hoo! Glad the time worked out so well for you! 🙂
I just started our fraction unit on Friday. Perfect timing for me!! Thankyou so much for sharing your resource!
Yea! I love perfect timing. 🙂
Thanks Donna – a bright, inviting resource! I will be using these cards with Grades 4 and 5 as they grow in confidence with working with fractions. Our fractions unit is coming up soon.
So versatile! With the large emphasis on fractions in fifth grade common core, these will be a wonderful addition to extension activities!
ooohh… thank you i love the background, and I’m constantly in search of great fractions material ( cuz, I’m not the best math student or teacher)
so again thx for the freebie
be well,
ivett
Your fraction cards are a life saver!! Thank you for sharing this =D
My pleasure! 🙂
Thank you for sharing these. I’ll be teaching RtI classes next year and these will be great.
I will use these during summer math class with 4th going into 5th and 5th going into 6th at the least.
I am recommending these cards be used to play fraction tracks. I’ve included a link to your cards. http://math-ninja.com/equivalent-fractions-game-fraction-tracks/
Thanks so much, Angela! 🙂
These will be great for my third grade resource room kids! We can use them to find missing numbers in a number line and also to find equivalencies. Thanks so much!
Thank you for sharing! I’m moving up to fourth grade, so I’m not sure how I’ll use them, but I know that they will be VERY handy!
I meant to day that I wasn’t sure how I’ll use them YET. Since fourth grade is new territory for me. 🙂
They have lots of great uses!
Thanks for sharing! I will be using these in a Math center and as Quiz Quiz Trade cards. I teach third grade and we have five weeks to teach fractions this year!
Amy, what are Quiz Quiz Trade cards? Sounds interesting!
Awesome! I plan to use the cards in a math center to multiply fractions with a whole.
I will definitely be using these in my station kits…aka centers. Thank you for this fun resource!
Lots of ways to use them. Card games, placing on a number line, ordering, fraction war.
This looks like a great resource to use next year as a task card type station!
Thank you so much for this! I am a special needs para, working 1:1, and am always looking for ways to make school and learning fun.
Thanks so much for sharing and also for the commenters who posted ideas:) Much appreciated! I’ll start with a partner memory game or war, then maybe sorting and eventually try the Fraction Game from Math Ninja
Thank you for sharing this resource!! This will be great for my Math with Someone center!!
downloaded free fraction flash cards, no seven’s in the file, goes from 1/6 to1/ 8, need 1/7 flash cards. thank you, love the cards.
I am going to have my preservice elementary teachers play benchmark bingo. I will flip over a card and then they will mark off a bingo board that has 0, 1/2 and 1 in its squares. The first person to get 5 in a row will win.
Love that idea!