Fraction Hunt

Fourth Grade Math

by Catherine Crider March 23, 2015

Fractions are everywhere! In this hands-on lesson, your class will work together in groups to find real-world
examples of fractions. As they discover more complicated fractions, students will create their own word
problems with them.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to identify and write fractions based on things they observe in everyday life.

Materials and preparation Key terms

Brownies, fruit, or other dividable food item denominator

Pencils and pens numerator
Paper
Cameras or other recording devices (optional)

Introduction (5 minutes)

Begin this lesson by introducing (or reviewing) the concept of fractions with food. Bring out the brownies,
fruit, or other food items.
Explain that you’d like to feed the whole class with this one large brownie (or other food item).
Have students provide suggestions for how everyone could get fed.
Guide students to agree that the fairest way to feed everyone is to divide it into equal pieces.
Show the class that when a whole is divided into equal parts the total number of equal parts goes on the
bottom of the fraction (the denominator) and the number of parts of the whole being given or kept goes
on the top of the fraction (the numerator).
Demonstrate this by writing out the fraction of the brownie each child gets, how many parts 10 children
will get, etc.
EL

Beginning

Define the terms "fraction," "numerator," "denominator," and any other challenging words in students
home language (L1) and student-friendly terms in English (L2).

Intermediate:

Accompany any explanation of fractions with a clear visual aid or diagram with labels.
Show a simple example of food and fractions such as dividing a chocolate bar into equal pieces (e.g.,
break a Hershey's into 6 pieces and show that one of those pieces would be represented by 1/6).

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (5 minutes)

Explain that fractions are not limited to food, but can be found in all sorts of everyday objects.
Tell the class that they will work in groups to find fractions all around them. Give the class a few
examples to help them visualize real-world fractions.
For example, bring a chair to the front of the room. Tell the class that there are 4 legs on the chair. Each
leg is 1/4 of the chair's legs. If 2 legs are silver and 2 legs are black, 2/4 of the chair’s legs are silver and

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 2/4 of the chair's legs are black.
EL

Beginning

When showing the sample fraction, state which numbers represents the numerator and the denominator.

Intermediate

Have students describe each part of the fraction using these sentence stems:
"The numerator in this fraction is _____ because..."
"The denominator in this fraction is ____ because..."

Guided Practice (10 minutes)

Ask your students to look around the room and identify more fractions they can find in the classroom.
They may notice that their textbook has 100 pages, with 10 pages in chapter one, to make 10/100, or
that there are 15 pairs of scissors, and 7 of them are blue, to make 7/15.
Write out the students’ examples on the board to demonstrate how to write fractions.
Next, help the class divide into groups to go on a fraction hunt. Before the hunt begins, set clear physical
boundaries, behavioral guidelines, and different “categories” (i.e., Silliest Fraction, Most Unusual Fraction,
etc.) to encourage fun and friendly competition. Set a time limit and encourage students to get creative!
If you would like to avoid competition with this activity, the class could set a goal for the number of
fractions they would like to find as a group in the set amount of time. This will also help to motivate
students.
EL

Beginning

Before the lesson, leave out obvious objects that can be interpreted as fractions, such as a toy pizza.
Provide students with a graphic organizer to help keep their fraction observations organized.

Intermediate

Have students describe one fraction they found to a partner before sharing with the whole class.

Independent working time (20 minutes)

Start the timer and allow the students to begin the hunt.
Have each group record the fractions they find—as well as a short description that explains how they
found the fraction—on a piece of paper.
If cameras or other recording devices are available, have kids take pictures or video of the fractions they
find.
EL

Beginning

Provide students with a short paragraph frame and display it on the board for students to use as they
write the description of the fraction they found (e.g. "We found this fraction in ____. It is a fraction
because ____. One way you can think of it as a fraction is ____.").

Intermediate

Place students strategically in groups so that more advanced students can help intermediate ELs.

Related books and/or media

Find interactive books for each child’s level.

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Differentiation

Support:

Pair students who struggle with the concept of fractions with children who understand it better.
Alternatively, simplify the activity for students who need extra help by giving them a list of fractions to
find and helping them find the first few.

Enrichment:

Have students who need a greater challenge write stories about the fractions they find. They can also
start thinking about addition and subtraction of fractions. For example, a story might talk about how the
window has four parts. A baseball broke one part. Now there are three parts left.

Ex: 4/4 - 1/4 = 3/4

Technology Integration

Cameras and video cameras add extra excitement to this lesson. Students can take pictures of the
objects to share with the class during the review and closing time. They can also later make posters using
these pictures as a way to review and display learning.
Alternatively, students can video each other with the objects explaining the fractions and share these
videos with the group during closing time.
EL

Beginning

Give students a series of questions to ask their group members as they video tape them. Provide
sentence stems to help students answer the questions as they talk about the fractions they found.

Assessment (10 minutes)

To check for mastery, students can do a fraction hunt at home or in another environment independently.
If cameras were used in the lesson, students can create posters displaying pictures they took along with
the applicable fractions. If video cameras were used, consider having each student speak about
something they found and the applicable fraction(s) on camera.
EL

Beginning

Allow students to create a poster or talk about their fraction with a partner.

Intermediate

Provide a graphic organizer for students to use to search for fractions in their homes.

Review and closing (15 minutes)

Call students together as a group to share their findings.

Students can either appoint a group leader to share for their group or take turns sharing. This is a great
opportunity for students to act as teachers. It can also encourage active listening to have everyone to
vote for the silliest or most unusual find.
During this time, students should be reminded:
1. Endless fractions exist in the world around them.
2. Fractions occur when a whole is divided into equal parts.
3. The total number of equal parts goes on the bottom of the fraction (the denominator) and the
number of parts of the whole being given or kept goes on the top of the fraction (the numerator).

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 4. For students already thinking about adding and subtracting parts to make more interesting
fractions/fraction stories, remind them that when they add or take away parts from the same
whole, they are adding or subtracting fractions.
EL

Beginning

Have students review the main learning points of the lesson in their L1 or in L2 with a sympathetic
partner first.

Intermediate

Provide sentence stems for students to use as they talk about the fractions they found on the fraction
hunt.
Ensure the definitions, visuals, and examples of key terms such as "numerator," "denominator," "equal
parts," and "fractions" are visible to students as they review the lesson.

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