How to use an apple to explain basic fractions

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Gets hands on with an apple to explain basic fractions to your second grader.

basic fractions using applesOver here at Crafty Kids at Home, I love to get all 3 of my children involved in most of our activities. However, now that my eldest son is moving up into 2nd Class (equivalent to 2nd Grade) when he goes back to school later this month, I plan to support his growing needs with an activity all of his own once a week. To help motivate me with this new direction, I have joined forces with a group of like-mind bloggers to share themed activities for 7-8 year old second graders every Thursday.

We started up last week sharing activities with a Back to School theme, including our own tips on how to set up a homework station for a second grader.

This week’s theme is apples and I decided to use an apple to help explain basic fractions to my son. When he goes into 2nd class they will be covering the concepts of a whole, halves and quarters, so this was a nice introduction to this new topic for him.

For some last minute ideas on how to personalise your back to school supplies, check out my handy Top 10.

How to use an apple to explain basic fractions to a second grader

Before starting the activity I painted 3 paper plates to look like apples and marked one as whole, divided the second into halves and the third into quarters.

We began the activity by looking up the definition of a fraction in Liam’s new school dictionary. This was on his school book list for the first time, so it was handy to have a good look around it before he uses it in school.

Fraction (noun) 1. A number that is not a whole number for example ½ or 0.5. 2. A small part of something (taken from Fallons Oxford English Dictionary)

We then took a good look at the whole apple before cutting it into two halves. To further emphasise the concept of two halves making a whole, we placed the two halves of chopped apple onto the corresponding painted paper plate.

basic fractions using apples halves

Getting hands on with a new learning concept it a great way to actively involve your child in the concept, which should help them to retain the information learned.

We repeated the exercise by cutting the apple halves into 4 quarters and placed these onto the correct paper plate.

basic fractions using apples quarters

Liam grasped the concepts very well and then had fun munching on his apple and thinking about what comes after quarters…

Follow our Second Grade Activities Pinterest board.

Here are the rest of  the activities being shared by the rest of the Second Grade Blogging Team:

Apple Array Practice for Second Grade from Look! We’re Learning!

Apples Graphing Activity from Sallie Borrink Learning

Free Number Order Printable Apples from Life Over C’s

Preserve an apple from getting brown from Planet Smarty Pants

Apple Descriptions {adjectives} from School Time Snippets

Nouns and Verbs – Apple Theme from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

Black and White Apple Prints: A Lesson in Contrast from Creative Family Fun

Apple Toothpick Tower Challenge from Preschool Powol Packets

Free Kids Activity Planner Arts Crafts Sensory Play

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17 thoughts on “How to use an apple to explain basic fractions”

  1. I love those big apple plates!! We also talk about fractions with our food, but I should totally follow up with writing it out too!

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