Class 2 fractions: halves, thirds and quarters
Fractions sound advanced, but at Class 2 they are wonderfully concrete: cutting a roti in half, sharing a chocolate bar into four equal pieces, splitting a bunch of grapes between three friends. The whole topic is really one idea — equal parts.
The word children must hold onto is "equal". Two pieces only make halves if the pieces are the same size. Once a child insists on fair, equal shares, halves, thirds and quarters follow naturally from everyday sharing.
What your child needs to know
- Recognise a half, a third and a quarter of a whole
- Understand that the parts must be equal
- Find a half, third or quarter of a small group of objects
- Know that two halves, or four quarters, make one whole
- Compare simple fractions of the same thing
Worked examples
What is half of 8 mangoes?
Hint — half means splitting into 2 equal groups.
Share 8 mangoes into 2 equal groups: 4 and 4. Half of 8 is 4.
A chapati is cut into 4 equal pieces. What is one piece called?
Hint — four equal parts make quarters.
When a whole is cut into 4 equal parts, each part is a quarter (one fourth). Four quarters together make the whole chapati again.
What is one third of 9 sweets?
Hint — a third means 3 equal groups.
Share 9 sweets into 3 equal groups: 3, 3 and 3. One third of 9 is 3.
Which is bigger: a half of a cake, or a quarter of the same cake?
Hint — fewer pieces means each piece is bigger.
A half splits the cake into 2 pieces; a quarter splits it into 4. Since 2 pieces are bigger than 4 pieces of the same cake, a half is bigger than a quarter.
How Olympiads test this
Olympiads such as SOF IMO and CREST CMO at Class 2 usually test fractions with pictures — a shaded shape, or a group of objects with some circled — and ask which fraction is shown, or to find a fraction of a small group. Comparing a half with a quarter of the same object is a common favourite. Plenty of hands-on sharing at home is the best preparation; no page can promise a particular result.
Practice questions
Show 5 practice questions and answers
- What is half of 10? — 5
- What is a quarter of 8? — 2
- What is one third of 6? — 2
- A roti is cut into 2 equal parts. What is each part called? — a half
- Which is more of the same cake, a half or a third? — a half
Inside Talyzo: World 4, Festivals
Fractions is World 4, set at a festival, where sweets and garlands are shared into equal parts. Every question has a hint before the answer and a full explanation after, so "equal parts" is something a child feels while sharing, not a rule to be memorised.
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