Children tend not to like the topic of fractions, as the groans I get from classes when I say that we will be doing some fraction work testify. However as long as children can count they should be able to recognise simple fractions.
Fractions basically have a bottom number (denominator) which explains into how many equal pieces the object or shape is divided into, and a top number (numerator) which says how many lots of those pieces you have.
If you look at the fractions here, each one has been divided into ten equal pieces, and you have 3 lots of these pieces shaded, so each fraction is 3/10.
A common mistake that children would make would be to say that each of these is actually 3/7. This is because they count the number of shaded pieces first (3), and than merely count how many are left unshaded (7) and make this the denominator.
Because examiners know that in order to recognise fractions all children really have to be able to do is count, they try to make it more difficult by sometimes not drawing in all the dividing lines. If this is the case all the children have to do is draw the dividing lines onto the shape, before counting.
I have included a worksheet, which can be downloaded below, on which the children can practise recognising fractions where the dividing lines have been put in, and some where they have been omitted. I have also put in a blank sheet, which you can colour in, in order to give your child extra practise.
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