In this lesson, students will use manipulatives to prove that when comparing fractions, the larger the denominator the larger the piece.  Also, when pieces are the same size (the denominator), the numerator denotes how many pieces of that size we have.

In this lesson, students will use manipulatives to prove that when comparing fractions, the larger the denominator the larger the piece.  Also, when pieces are the same size (the denominator), the numerator denotes how many pieces of that size.  Students will be able to sort fractions quickly by adding the fraction by itself to determine if it is smaller, equal, or larger than ½. 

This Desmos activity has students partiiton a fraction into fourths, model a fraction, and then determine if the fraction is more than, less than, or equal to 1/2 by looking at the denominator.

This video is part of the Continue to Know with WHRO TV series. Watch Kyle Snyder teach how to order fractions from least to greatest.