Fractions
Add fractions with the same denominator
Add like fractional units within one whole, simplify the total and recognize when the sum makes exactly one.
Preview and downloadFractions practice
Visual fraction addition
Use equal-part models to see why adding fractions with a shared denominator combines their numerators.
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Identify the fractional unit in both models. Combine the selected parts, write the sum and simplify its value when possible. These visual sums stay within one whole.
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Customize this worksheetLearning objective
What this activity builds
Join amounts expressed in the same fractional unit while preserving the size of that unit.
Worked example
One model shows 2/5 and another equal-sized model shows 1/5. What is their sum?
2/5 + 1/5 = 3/5.
Two fifths and one fifth make three fifths. Adding the amounts does not change a fifth into a tenth, because the size of each part stays the same.
Teaching notes
Make the practice count
- Say the unit aloud: two fifths plus one fifth.
- Compare the combined parts with one complete model to recognize a total equal to one.
- Connect each counted part to the corresponding numerator before moving to symbolic practice; use the general adding-fractions activity for a broader range of sums.
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