Comparing and simplifying fractions – Year 6 maths lesson
Lesson 20 of 32 in the Year 6 maths course
UK version. UK school years, UK spelling and pounds (£). · US Math Department
A complete 45-minute lesson for Year 6 (ages 10–11) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is marked straight away, with a worked explanation.
- Time
- 45 minutes + 20 min homework
- Year
- Year 6 (ages 10–11)
- 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 (20 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
| 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
20 minutes: 10 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
More Year 6 maths lessons
- Place value: the value of each digit
- Negative numbers
- Comparing, ordering and writing numbers
- Negative numbers and temperature
- Long multiplication
- Short division
- Long division
- Order of operations
- Factors and multiples
- Prime numbers
- Estimating and checking answers
- Solving word problems
- Adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators
- Multiplying fractions
- Percentages of amounts
- Calculating with decimals
- Rounding decimals
- Adding and subtracting decimals
- Fractions, decimals and percentages
- Converting units of measure
- Volume of cuboids
- Missing angles
- Properties of 2-D shapes
- 3-D shapes and nets
- Coordinates
- Line graphs
- Pie charts
- The mean (average)
- Ratio and proportion
- Formulae and equations
- Sequences
Curriculum
National Curriculum for England, Year 6: “compare and order fractions, including fractions >1”
National Curriculum for England, Year 6: “use common factors to simplify fractions; use common multiples to express fractions in the same denomination”
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.