Here are two strips of exactly the same length. On the top strip I have shaded one half. On the bottom strip, which is cut into quarters, watch how far two quarters reaches. Hands up: what do you notice about the shaded parts on the two strips?
Each pair of fraction strips lines up on screen, one shaded above the other. Look along the right-hand edge of the shaded parts each time. Where do they stop?
Together we will find a match for one half. Below the shaded half are two blank strips, one cut into quarters and one into sixths. Predict first: how many quarters, and how many sixths, will reach the same far edge as one half? Then a pupil comes to the board and shades a strip until its far edge lines up exactly with the half.
In your maths copy, draw a one-half bar and a two-quarter bar of the same length, one under the other. Shade one half on the top bar and two quarters on the bottom bar. Check the shaded ends line up, then write "one half = two quarters" underneath.
Today we work through these matches together: first match one half, then match one third, then match two quarters, then match three sixths to an equal fraction. Each one uses more or fewer parts than the last, so predict where the far edge will land before we check.
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