# Fractions

Canonical: https://manipulatives.org/topics/fractions/

Choose a whole, make equal parts, and compare their sizes and relationships.

A fraction needs a reference whole. One half of a small strip and one half of a much larger strip have the same fraction name but different physical lengths. Establish the whole before naming its parts.

[Fraction circles](https://manipulatives.org/manipulatives/fraction-circles/) emphasize regions of a whole. [Fraction tiles](https://manipulatives.org/manipulatives/fraction-tiles/) support aligned length comparisons. [Number lines](https://manipulatives.org/manipulatives/number-lines/) place fractions among other numbers, including numbers greater than one.

Try representing one fraction in more than one way. A learner who makes a half with a circle can show the same number with a strip and locate it halfway from zero to one. Ask what remains the same and what changes between those pictures.

## Tools

- [Cuisenaire Rods](https://manipulatives.org/manipulatives/cuisenaire-rods/)

- [Fraction Circles](https://manipulatives.org/manipulatives/fraction-circles/)

- [Fraction Tiles](https://manipulatives.org/manipulatives/fraction-tiles/)

- [Math Bars](https://manipulatives.org/manipulatives/math-bars/)

- [Number Lines](https://manipulatives.org/manipulatives/number-lines/)

- [Pattern Blocks](https://manipulatives.org/manipulatives/pattern-blocks/)

- [Probability Spinners](https://manipulatives.org/manipulatives/probability-spinners/)

- [Tangrams](https://manipulatives.org/manipulatives/tangrams/)

## Articles

- [A whole new way to see fractions](https://manipulatives.org/blog/fractions-with-pattern-blocks/)