The most important understanding is the meaning of the denominator. We have done many activities where the whole has changed. This has given third grade mathematicians the opportunity to find the value of the denominator repeatedly.
For example, we explored fractions using cuisenaire rods.
However, mathematicians need to think flexibly and consider what happens if the whole is different.
As you can imagine, this is not easy work! I have admired the persistence your children have displayed as we have worked our way through the lessons. If you would like to better understand our work with Cuisenaire rods and fractions, your child is welcome to borrow some rods to bring home and teach you. Alternatively, you can click here to use virtual Cuisenaire rods together.
***Please note that the images above are not to scale. I don't know why all the images didn't download the same size, so I hope you're able to pretend. :)