Free Printable Equal Parts Worksheets

About the Equal Parts Worksheets

A shape is cut into equal parts when every part covers the same amount of space. Only then can the parts be named with a fraction: two equal parts are halves, three are thirds, four are fourths, six are sixths and eight are eighths. One of those parts is a unit fraction, written with a 1 on top: 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/8.

The two 1st grade sheets come first. Halves and Fourths asks whether the shares are equal, then names them: two equal shares are halves, four are fourths or quarters. Color a Half, Color a Fourth has the child color half of a circle or a quarter of a rectangle, cut shapes on their marks, and see that a fourth is smaller than a half of the same shape.

The four 2nd grade sheets come next. Halves, Thirds and Fourths and Draw Equal Shares use words only, with no fraction written as numbers: a half, a third, a fourth, and two halves make one whole. Rows and Columns and Draw Rows and Columns cut a rectangle into same-size squares and count them, which is the groundwork for both arrays and area.

Equal Parts and Unit Fractions, the first 3rd grade sheet, mixes shapes that are cut fairly with shapes that are not. The ones that are not equal are the common mistakes: a circle cut by straight up-and-down lines, a triangle cut straight across, a rectangle cut into strips of different widths. Each has the right number of parts, which is why children call them thirds or halves.

Split Shapes into Equal Parts hands over the pencil. Each shape has small marks along its edges, so the lines can be drawn in the right place without a ruler. There is more than one right answer for most of them, and the key says so.

Equal Parts on a Grid is the 3rd grade idea that equal parts need the same area, not the same shape. An L-shaped part and a rectangle can both be one third of the whole if they cover the same number of squares. For the next step, see the fractions worksheets and the area worksheets.