This Number Talk encourages students to use what they know about the meaning of fractions and about properties of operations to mentally relate fractions that are equivalent to whole numbers.
Launch
Display one fraction.
“Give me a signal when you have an answer and can explain how you got it.”
1 minute: quiet think time
Teacher Instructions
Record answers and strategies.
Keep fractions and work displayed.
Repeat with each fraction.
Student Task
Find the whole number equivalent to each fraction.
116
216
416
420
Sample Response
16: It’s 16 parts of 1, which is 16.
8: I know 2 halves make 1, so I count by 2 halves, like 2 halves, 4 halves, and so on, to get to 16 halves. I counted by 2 halves 8 times.
4: There are 4 fourths in 1, so there are 8 fourths in 2, and 16 fourths in 4.
5: If 416 is 4, then 4 more fourths makes 5.
Synthesis
“How did the earlier fractions help you find the whole number for the last fraction?”
Consider asking:
“Did anyone have the same strategy but would explain it differently?”
“Did anyone approach the problem in a different way?”
Standards
Addressing
3.NF.3.c·Express whole numbers as fractions, and recognize fractions that are equivalent to whole numbers.
3.NF.A.3.c·Express whole numbers as fractions, and recognize fractions that are equivalent to whole numbers. <span>Examples: Express <span class="math">\(3\)</span> in the form <span class="math">\(3 = 3/1\)</span>; recognize that <span class="math">\(6/1 = 6\)</span>; locate <span class="math">\(4/4\)</span> and <span class="math">\(1\)</span> at the same point of a number line diagram.</span>