Comparing and simplifying fractions – Year 3 maths lesson

Lesson 16 of 24 in the Year 3 maths course

UK version. UK school years, UK spelling and pounds (£). · US Math Department

A complete 45-minute lesson for Year 3 (ages 7–8) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is marked straight away, with a worked explanation.

Time: 45 minutes + 15 min homework
Year: Year 3 (ages 7–8)
You need: Paper, a pencil and this page
Marked: Instantly, with explanations

For parents: how to use this lesson

You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, one tidy step at a time. Every answer is marked straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to mark anything.

Read what your child will learn and the big ideas together.
Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
Let them do the practice on their own. They choose Getting started, On track or Challenge – start on On track and move up after a few right in a row.
Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “How can you tell 3/7 is less than a half without drawing it?”
Later that day or the next day: the homework (15 minutes), then a practice test.

Watch out for

Thinking 1/8 is bigger than 1/4 because 8 is bigger. Draw both: more parts means smaller parts.
Simplifying by dividing only the top or only the bottom. Whatever you do to the top, do to the bottom.

Tip for home: Share a pizza or cake and compare who has the bigger fraction.

What your child will learn

We are learning to compare, order and simplify fractions.

Success looks like

I can compare fractions with the same denominator or numerator.
I can compare by finding a common denominator.
I can simplify fractions.

Key words

numerator: the top number
denominator: the bottom number
common denominator: a denominator both fractions can share
simplest form: the numbers cannot be divided by the same number any more

What to have ready

Paper and a pencil
This page on a computer, tablet or phone
For the hands-on part: Use fraction strips or a fraction wall to compare fractions side by side. No fraction strips? Draw equal-length bars and split them into parts.

The big ideas (for the adult)

Fractions with the same denominator: the bigger numerator is the bigger fraction. Same numerator: the smaller denominator is bigger.

To compare other fractions, make the denominators the same using equivalent fractions.

To simplify, divide the numerator and denominator by the same number until no number above 1 divides both.

The lesson, step by step

45 minutes in 5 parts
Part	Time	How it is checked
Starter: quick recall	5 min	Marked by Classfern
Teaching input	10 min	Not assessed, self-checked
Worked examples and guided practice	9 min	Not assessed, marked by Classfern
Independent practice	15 min	Marked by Classfern
Plenary and exit ticket	6 min	Marked by Classfern, self-checked

Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are marked by Classfern. Worked examples and teaching are not assessed. The hands-on task and the reflection are self-assessed. Explanations in talk are judged by the parent and not recorded.

The lesson

It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser.

Homework and practice at home

15 minutes: 8 practice questions, 3 multiple-choice questions and 2 to remember from earlier work, then a short reflection. New questions every time, all marked instantly.

More practice

Year 3 fractions testMarked instantly

All Year 3 maths lessons and tests · Maths Department

Curriculum

National Curriculum for England, Year 3: “compare and order unit fractions, and fractions with the same denominators”

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board.