Fruit Ninja Fractions

ObjectiveReviewing the parts of fractions and developing a visual understanding of the addition and subtraction of fractions.

CA Standards--Second Grade

  • Parts of a Whole

  • Recognize, name and compare unit fractions

CA Standards--Third Grade

  • Understand a fraction 1/b as the quantity formed by 1 part when a whole is partitioned into b equal parts; understand a fraction a/b as the quantity formed by a parts of 1/b.

  • Addition and subtraction of simple fractions.

Materials

Any kind of citrus works well for this lesson. I used “Cuties” because they were easy for kids to peel and not very large. Frozen strawberries were used because strawberries were not in season.

  • “Cuties” mandarin oranges or tangerines

  • Frozen strawberries

  • Grapes

  • Dice

  • Plastic plates and napkins

Procedures

  1. Give all the kids a plate and a worksheet/pencil.

  2. Start by reviewing numerator and denominator. Numerator is like number so it is the one on top. The denominator is the lower or Down number. It represents the whole.

  3. Have them peel their tangerines and count the sections. Write down the number.

  1. Give each child a strawberry. 1 will be in the numerator and the number of tangerine segments and the strawberry will be the denominator. Make sure the students have the correct answer before moving on.Give the students a couple grapes and have them write down the fraction. The numerator will be the number of grapes. The denominator will be the total of all the fruit (grapes, strawberries and tangerines.)

  2. Give one more grape and have them write down the new fraction to check for understanding before continuing.

  3. To play the game, use the dice to roll a number which will represent the numerator. The denominator will be a total of all the fruit. Students will write down the fraction representing the conditions above. Once all the kids have the right answer written down, then can eat the number of pieces of fruit in the numerator.

    • Repeat rolling the dice to represent the numerator. The denominator will be the total number of fruit pieces remaining. Once all the kids have the correct answer, they can eat their fruit.

    • Continue until the majority of the fruit is gone.