Compose Fractions with a Whole-Class Game

Sometimes all it takes to motivate and engage your students in a maths lesson is a little healthy competition!

If you’re looking for a fun and collaborative way to get your students to compose fractions, then look no further than Teach Starter’s “I Have, Who Has?” composing fractions game!

This maths resource has been designed by our experienced teacher team to give your students practise decomposing fractions without the fuss of photocopying worksheets! It requires students to match a fraction written in fraction notation with an equivalent pictorial representation.

The game works like this:

1. Students sit at their desks, or in a circle on the floor.
2. Give each student a card. Students may need to play in smaller groups, depending on class size.
3. The student who has the sentence “I have the first card” begins the game by standing up and reading their card.
4. Once they have read their clue, the student that has the matching fraction on their card, stands up and reads what is on their card.
5. The game continues until the last person reads out, “I am the winner.”

This resource includes both unit and non-unit fractions. The denominators included are:

• Halves
• Thirds
• Quarters
• Fifths
• Sixths
• Eighths
• Tenths

This composing fractions maths game downloads as a full-colour printable PDF or editable Google Slides version. Instructions on how to play the game are also included in the download.

Variations for This Composing Fractions Game

This maths game makes a fantastic lesson warm-up or wrap-up activity. If you’re looking for some slight variations on gameplay, check out the ideas below:

• Timed Challenge – Play the game several times, making sure the students swap their cards after each game. Each game the students play, time them to see if they can become faster and faster with each attempt!
• Line Them Up – Use the resource as an independent activity by having the students line up all the cards in one long line by matching one card to the next.
• Exit Ticket – Use the cards as an exit ticket. Provide the students with a card, and have them tell you what the next card should be as they are exiting the classroom.

Download to Compose Fractions with Your Students

Use the dropdown menu on the Download button to access your preferred version of this resource. Note that if you select the Google Slides file, you will be prompted to make a copy to your personal drive before downloading.

Print this resource on thick card to improve durability. Store all the cards together in a large envelope or ziplock bag for safekeeping.

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

More Resources for Adding and Subtracting Fractions

If you’re keen to spend less time photocopying worksheets, then check out these great alternatives when teaching addition and subtraction of fractions to your students!

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