Build a Fraction with Ice Cream Scoops!

Are you looking for a sweet fractions activity to help your students build fractions? Look no further than Teach Starter’s building fractions cut-and-paste worksheet!

This simple worksheet has been designed by our experienced teacher team to get your students to build fractions. Building fractions requires students to create a fraction out of smaller fraction components. For example, the fraction ¾ can be built using three ¼ fractions. 

To complete this worksheet, students are required to use the ice cream scoops provided to build eight different fractions (displayed on the ice cream cones). Students must work out which fraction scoops they need to compose each fraction, then place them in place above the cone. The fractions included on the worksheet include:

• Five-eighths
• Two-sixths
• Three-fourths
• Seven-eighths 
• Three-sixths
• Two-thirds
• One-fourth
• Two-fourths

An answer sheet is also provided in the download.

This building fractions worksheet downloads as an easy-print PDF or an editable Google Slides digital document, making it a versatile inclusion to any lesson on building fractions. Not only will your students be exercising and strengthening the muscles in their hands as they cut the ice cream scoops and paste them in place, but they will also be adding to their knowledge of this fundamental maths concept.

Further Extend This Building Fractions Activity

This building fractions cut-and-paste worksheet looks deceptively simple at first sight, but there is definitely the potential to take this activity further! Here is one suggestion from an experienced teacher on our team:

Once the students have created their fraction ice creams, have them colour in the scoops to represent different flavours, e.g. brown for chocolate, pink for strawberry, white for vanilla, and so on. Then, have the students write a number sentence that represents the flavours in each ice cream. For example, if they are representing the fraction ¾ and have coloured one brown scoop, one pink scoop and one white scoop, they can represent this using the number sentence ¼ + ¼ + ¼ = ¾.

Download to Build Fractions

As mentioned above, this building fractions worksheet downloads as either an easy-print PDF or an editable Google Slides version. Use the Download button to access your preferred file format. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides template on your personal drive before accessing it.)

As the download contains an answer sheet, we suggest printing one copy of the entire resource, then removing the answer sheet before making copies for your students.

This resource was created by Cassandra Friesen, a Teach Starter collaborator.

More Fractions Resources to Save You Time!

Cut down on your maths planning by downloading more of Teach Starter’s fractions resources for primary school students. We promise you won’t be sorry you did!

teaching resource

Introduction to Unit Fractions Worksheet Pack

Introduce your students to unit fractions with this set of teacher-created worksheets.

teaching resource

Equivalent Fractions Pizza Bingo - Whole, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8

32 different bingo cards using whole, 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 equivalent fractions.

teaching resource

I Have Who Has? Game – Composing Fractions

Get your students to compose fractions with an engaging whole-class game perfect for lesson warm-ups or wrap-ups!