How to Teach Fractions Effectively in Primary School
- Improving Maths
- Dec 31, 2025
- 2 min read
Teaching Fractions can strike fear into the heart of many primary school teachers. We are all very good at the initial stages of splitting a pizza into two or maybe four parts but after that we can come a little bit unstuck!
There are a number of reasons why teaching fractions can be a little tricky, but I firmly believe that, if we can keep the steps outlined below in mind, we can avoid many of the traditional pitfalls.
When teaching fractions in primary school it is helpful to think of it under the following 3 headings.
1) The area model.
This is your ubiquitous pizza or bar of chocolate model. Here, you want children to be able to name or say the fraction, to recognise that it is spilt into a number of equal parts and also to be able to write the fraction. These skills sound deceptively simple but they do require practise and regular teacher assessment to make sure they are being mastered.
2) Fractions on a number line.
Frequently, when we teach fractions, we can gloss over teaching fractions on a number line and remain in the domain of the area model. This is a mistake! Effectively teaching fractions on a number line is essential to developing conceptual understanding. Knowing where to place a 1/3 on a number line (i.e. between 0 and 1) is crucial.
Similarly, recognising a whole as being at number 1 is also essential. In younger classes, we are very good at practising counting, but we can do less of this as children move up primary school. Practising counting fractions with a number line is very important in laying foundations for more complex maths as children move to secondary.
3) Fractions of a set. This 3rd heading is where we teach children that a 1/4 of 12 is 3 or that a 1/5 of 20 is 4. Here, we are drawing children's attention to the connection with division.
Bearing these 3 headings in mind and gearing your teaching to make sure they are well covered will go a long way to demystifying fractions. As with any maths topic, practise and repetition are key components to mastery. This is easy to achieve when teachers themselves feel confident.
If you are looking for anchor charts and worksheets that support these fraction skills, you can find them here.
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