Lesson 5
Fractions on Number Lines
Lesson Purpose
Lesson Narrative
Prior to this lesson, students used fraction strips and tape diagrams to visualize and represent fractions that are the same size. Here they use number lines to do so. Students are reminded that equivalent fractions describe the same point on the number line, or are the same distance from 0.
To determine whether two fractions are equivalent, students rely on their understanding of fractions with related denominators (in which one denominator is a multiple of another). They practice thinking of certain fractions in terms of other fractions (for instance, thinking that they can split 1 third into 2 sixths, or 1 fifth into 2 tenths).
- Representation
Learning Goals
Teacher Facing
- Identify equivalent fractions on a number line.
- Recognize that fractions that describe the same point on the number line are equivalent.
Student Facing
- Let’s investigate equivalent fractions on a number line.
Required Materials
Materials to Gather
Required Preparation
Lesson Timeline
| Warm-up | 10 min |
| Activity 1 | 20 min |
| Activity 2 | 15 min |
| Lesson Synthesis | 10 min |
| Cool-down | 5 min |
Teacher Reflection Questions
In the next lesson, students will be comparing fractions to \(\frac{1}{2}\) and 1, applying what they know about equivalence and distance on a number line. How did today’s work prepare them for that lesson?
Suggested Centers
- Get Your Numbers in Order (1–5), Stage 3: Denominators 2, 3, 4, or 6 (Addressing)
- Number Line Scoot (2–3), Stage 3: Halves, Thirds, Fourths, Sixths and Eighths (Supporting)