Take three hands-up answers, not open call-outs, and don't confirm yet — leave the question genuinely open. Listen for whether pupils reach for a rule or just a hunch; you'll return to this exact pair in the model.

3/4 vs 5/6 — the opening pair. Stress both strips start the same length. Common denominator twelfths: 3/4 becomes 9/12, 5/6 becomes 10/12, so 10 beats 9 and 5/6 is bigger. Name it: common-denominator strategy.

E2/3 vs 3/5 — same idea. Ask them to predict the shared bottom number before you reveal: fifteenths. 2/3 becomes 10/15, 3/5 becomes 9/15, so 2/3 is bigger. Point out the shaded amount never changed, only the pieces.

2/7 vs 5/9 — the key one, pause here. Ask 'do we even need a common denominator?' 2/7 fills under half, 5/9 over half, so 5/9 wins with no calculation. Benchmark-to-a-half: works when the two land on different sides of halfway.

4/9 vs 4/11 — longest beat, the one pupils invert. Same top number, so ask which pieces are bigger, ninths or elevenths. Predict first, then reveal: ninths are bigger, so 4/9 wins. Say the rule twice — a bigger bottom makes smaller slices, so with matching tops the smaller bottom wins. Common-numerator strategy.

This round is for talking it through together — pupils take turns at the board and the class agrees or corrects out loud.

Four strips stay on screen all through: two twelfths, one eighths, one fifths. Clear the shading between pairs, then hand the mouse to a pupil to shade the next one. Order builds deliberately: 1/2 vs 1/4 is an easy common-numerator warm-up; 3/8 vs 1/2 invites the benchmark; 3/4 vs 3/5 is a common-numerator call, same top number; 3/4 vs 2/3 needs twelfths. For each pair, ask a pupil to name the strategy before shading, then a second pupil to shade and read the comparison line. Revoice a strong answer: so once the bottoms match, we just count the shaded slices.

These are the practice questions — pupils take turns at the board, check each answer, and the class confirms before moving on. Keep the board work brisk rather than over-explaining.

5/6 vs 7/8 needs twenty-fourths; 3/10 vs 2/5 rewards spotting that fifths become tenths; 7/12 vs 5/8 is the key one, common ground twenty-fourths. Before grinding out a common denominator, prompt: would a benchmark to a half decide it faster? Three pairs across eight minutes gives each one a full predict-shade-confirm cycle.