Lesson 9

You Ate the Whole Thing

Lesson Purpose

The purpose of this lesson is for students to recognize 2 halves, 3 thirds, and 4 fourths as one whole.

Lesson Narrative

In previous lessons, students partitioned circles and rectangles into halves, thirds, and fourths and identified an equal piece of different shapes as a half of, third, of, or fourth of the shape.

In this lesson, students continue to practice partitioning circles and describe halves, thirds, and quarters of circles using the language a half of, a third of, and a quarter of to describe a piece of the shape. They also use this language to describe the whole shape as a number of equal pieces. Students recognize that a whole shape can be described as 2 halves, 3 thirds, or 4 fourths. This understanding is the foundation for students' work with a whole and fraction equivalency in grade 3.

The activities encourage students to use quarters and a quarter of when describing fourths of a circle. This word choice is used to help students connect to the language used when telling time to the half and quarter hour in upcoming lessons.

  • Representation

Learning Goals

Teacher Facing

  • Describe two halves, three thirds, and four fourths as one whole.
  • Use “half of,” “a third of,” and “a quarter of” to describe parts of a shape.

Student Facing

  • Let’s talk about the whole.

Required Materials

Materials to Gather

Required Preparation

CCSS Standards

Addressing

Building Towards

Lesson Timeline

Warm-up 10 min
Activity 1 15 min
Activity 2 20 min
Lesson Synthesis 10 min
Cool-down 5 min

Teacher Reflection Questions

In an upcoming lesson, students will learn to tell time to the half hour and quarter hour. What do you notice in their work from today’s lesson that you might leverage in that lesson?

Suggested Centers

  • How Are They the Same? (1–5), Stage 2: Grade 2 Shapes (Addressing)
  • Which One? (K–5), Stage 3: Grade 2 Shapes (Addressing)

Print Formatted Materials

Teachers with a valid work email address can click here to register or sign in for free access to Cool Down, Teacher Guide, and PowerPoint materials.

Student Task Statements pdf docx
Lesson Cover Page pdf docx
Cool Down Log In
Teacher Guide Log In
Teacher Presentation Materials pdf docx

Additional Resources

Google Slides Log In
PowerPoint Slides Log In