Fractions of a whole (age 8+)
Express whole numbers as fractions (e.g. 3 = 3/1) and recognise fractions equivalent to whole numbers (e.g. 4/4 = 1, 6/1 = 6)
What a learner can do afterwards
- Write 5 as 5/1 and explain why
- Locate 4/4 and 1 at the same point on a number line
- Identify which fractions from a list equal a whole number: 6/3, 8/4, 5/2
The lesson
You already know how to shade parts of a whole to make a fraction. Now let's write whole numbers as fractions too. Put the whole number on top and a 1 on the bottom. So 6 becomes 6/1, and 9 becomes 9/1.
Mia has 3 apples. Each apple is one whole apple, not a part of one. So as a fraction, that's 3 wholes over 1, or 3/1.
Here's a quick check: if the top number divides evenly by the bottom number, the fraction is a whole number. 8/4 = 2 because 8 divided by 4 is exactly 2. And any number over 1, like 6/1, always equals that number.
A whole number written over 1 is still that number, and a fraction where the top divides evenly by the bottom is a whole number too.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
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Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.