Picture a 100 metre running track. The start line is 0 and the finish line is 1 whole race. If a runner is at the halfway point, exactly where on the track are they standing?

Hands up: where would halfway be, and how could you be sure it really is the middle?

The number line runs from 0 to 1, and each fraction lands a marker on it. Watch how the bottom number splits the gap into equal jumps and the top number tells us how many to count.

Today we explore together: when a fraction is called out, place its point on the line between 0 and 1. First we decide how many equal jumps to split the gap into, then we count the jumps.

Today we work through these fractions one at a time: place one half, then one quarter, then one third, then two thirds on the line between 0 and 1. Each time, decide the equal jumps first, then place the point and check.

What we learned today

• A fraction is a point between 0 and 1 on the number line.
• The bottom number tells us how many equal jumps to split the gap into; the top number tells us how many to count.
• One half on the line is the same amount as one half of a whole shape.