Year 2 fractions New this week is a set of worksheets on finding fractions of lengths. Fractions is one of those subjects which can cause a lot of problems so it is important to get a sound early understanding. Children should come into Year 2 (age 6-7) being able to recognise halves and quarters and knowing that a half is one of two equal parts of an object, shape or quantity and a quarter is one of four equal parts. In Year 2 this knowledge is developed to include recognising one third, two thirds, two quarters and three quarters of shapes, sets of objects, quantities and lengths. Finding fractions of shapes can involve shading in or cutting out certain amounts of a shape e.g. shading two thirds of a rectangle. The important concept here is that the fractions must be of equal size. Finding fractions of sets of objects is usually done on a practical basis e.g. take 12 bricks and sort them into three equal piles – each pile is one third of the total number of bricks. This can also be done pictorially and strengthens the link between finding fractions and division. Finding fractions of quantities means finding a fraction of a number e.g. find a third of 6. This is a development from using shapes and objects and should only be done when children are confident with working with objects to find fractions. A key aspect of fractions is recognising equivalence. Put simply, this is the understanding that a half is equivalent to, or the same as two quarters, that four quarters is equivalent to one whole one etc. Another important aspect of work with fractions in Year 2 is counting in halves and quarters. By the end of the year children should be familiar with terms such as part, fraction, three quarters, one third and two thirds and be able to write these fractions in both words and numbers. Whilst we recommend that much of the fractions work in Year 2 should be practical in nature we have plenty of written material to reinforce the practical work. Why not take a look now? Once all this has been achieved children will be ready to move onto Year 3 work when much more is done on equivalent fractions, comparing fractions and even adding and subtracting simple fractions. Go to Year 2 Fractions