Folding Fractions

Skills Practiced:

• Spatial reasoning
• Fractions of shapes
• Multiplication of Fractions
• (Potentially) Pythagoras

Material:

• Paper cut in to squares
• Display Board

Instructions

• Each student gets a square piece of paper.
• Ask if anyone can fold the square into a shape that is 1/4 of the original size. Ask them to explain how they know that it is exactly 1/4.
• Project the fractions on the picture below on to the board.

• Students aim to make those fractions from the original square.
• Every time they get an answer, they must convince their partner that it is correct before they put their name on it and blue-tack it to the board. Multiple different answers are allowed for each fraction
• Below this (or on another board(, students put up any other fractions they can find.

Example work

Extensions and Variations:

• Find the same fractions as above, but now your final shape must be a square.
• https://www.youcubed.org/task/paper-folding-fun/