From buying half kilograms of tomatoes to eating a quarter piece of the cake, we deal with fractions every single day without even realizing how important they are!
Fractions are mathematical expressions that represent a part of the whole and thereby help us to break whole numbers into smaller parts. A fraction consists of two numeric values: the numerator and the denominator. Although the concepts of fractions form the fundamentals of primary mathematics, students are often found struggling to figure out how they work.
Understanding fractions can be a toilsome task for students if they do not get to visualize their applications in the real world. One of the most interesting ways to help them discover their significance is by introducing them to the following list of games using fraction strips that aim to strengthen their command of the basics and make learning a thrilling experience.
Cool Games for introducing fraction strips to little learners
What if a new way of studying is created? Where you can enjoy the pleasure of having fun and studying simultaneously. Playing online games can create a constructive impact on your brain’s learning curve, strengthening your memory, momentum, and engagement. Here’s a list of games employing fraction strips that will help carve and reinforce your learning skills.
1. Choose The Correct Partition

This shiny and fun game is an absolutely refreshing mental math exercise for kids, which consists of smartly designed tasks that make students learn the concept of unit fractions by heart. In a city of treasures, one needs to find the right stone in order to help the hero build his city. Thereafter, using the information provided in the options, students are expected to create equal parts by choosing the correct partition. With compelling animations and digital images, this game keeps children engrossed and helps them to master the world of fractions.
2. Fraction bars

This game can be advantageous for the kids as they will learn the statistical representations of fractions. Fraction bars will help you see different fractional values given on the screen. If you want, you can increase or decrease the value of its denominator and numerator. Furthermore, you will get to see the bar representations of the fractions accordingly. You can guess and understand how the fraction works by looking at this.
3. Fraction strips game

This game can be advantageous for students to clear fraction concepts. In this, you will see different types of small fraction strips with different fractional numbers. As soon as you start the game, there will be four rows on the screen and multiple fractional strips at the bottom with different digits in them. You have to drag it from the bottom and place it in the four rows. By dragging the fraction bars onto the canvas, students can also analyze the differences between various denominators and know the concepts of equivalent fractions.
Fraction Strips is a fun and engaging game that can be a great way to teach a child the concept of fractions using the popular method of fraction learning, namely the fraction strips. This game helps students to visualize and understand the concepts of fractions. It includes colorful strips representing a specific fractional value ranging from one whole to one-twelfth part.
4. Dices & Strips

We all have seen and played games with the usual dice, but have you ever seen or played with a dice that has fractions and needs to be played with using fraction strips? Well, to indulge in this game, you would need to make one for yourself! Write down fractions on a few dice and create fraction strips of each number that you are putting on the dice. You would also require blank paper.
To play this game, roll three dice together at once. Whichever fraction comes in, you need to put the exact same fraction strip on the blank piece of paper. The goal of the game is to make a whole number. For example, when you roll the dice, the fractions that come in are 1/4, 1/5, and 1/6. Through calculations using LCM and HCF, you would have to calculate the sum of these fractions using fraction strips. Next, whenever your turn comes again, you must calculate the sum of the previous numbers with the new number that comes in. This would continue till you do not reach a whole number. The player who gets a whole number first wins the game!
5. Find your fraction partner!

Find your fraction partner is a fun game that can be played with the whole class. This would require a whole bunch of students; therefore, it becomes a great activity for an educator who is trying to inculcate the use of fraction strips to a student. In this game, the teacher needs to make as many fraction strips as the number of students in the class. For example, if there are 20 students in the class, the teacher would have to make 20 strips, each representing a different fraction. Later, the teacher would jumble these strips up, put them in a jar, and distribute them randomly to each student.
The game’s primary goal is that the student must find a partner who has a fraction, which they can add to their fraction to form a whole number. For example, student A has a fraction strip with the fraction 2/3. They would go on and find a student with the strip of 1/3 so that they could reach a whole number. This game would be even more exciting, as it would involve a lot of calculation as students might even need to convert mixed fractions to improper ones! Apart from teaching the use of fraction strips, students in this activity would also learn to socialize and develop social skills.
6. Bin, Bing, Bingo!

This game uses the concept of representing fractions on a number line, which can help students understand their meanings. You need to find out what fraction the yellow dot on the number line corresponds with. On identifying five fractions, you win the round. This uses your mental maths skills and helps you perceive fractions as numbers. Also, this game develops an understanding of equivalent fractions as they denote the same point on the number line. It is specifically designed for students in grades 3-4.
7. Add fractions using models

Younger kids often struggle with the addition of fractions as they find it a bit hard to comprehend the calculations. The main reason behind this is inadequate practice. A fun way to work on the concepts is by playing this particular game, which focuses on the fundamentals and allows them to enjoy solving problems. This game encourages children to use a linear model of fractions and understand the working in depth. Using models like these, students get a platform to practice effectively and score better in their exams.
8. Fraction Problems Using Strips
For this game, educators can ask the students to make their own fraction strips for the latter part of the game. The game revolves around teachers giving students a word problem, and the students would have to solve them using the fraction strips only.
For example, the teacher can ask – If Jessica’s father owns the land and decides to gift her 1/5th of it and deploy 2/5th of the land in farming, how much of the piece of the land would be left with the father? To solve this problem, the student would have to take out the piece of the fraction strip which represents 1/5 (Jessica’s share), 2 of the 1/5 strips (Share for farming). The student would now be left with 2 strips of 1/5 each. This way, the student would get the desired answer, which is 2/5.
To make the game even more interesting, teachers can divide students into teams of 4 or 5, and quiz them by awarding points to each team who answers correctly first.
Making the best use of fraction strips – Why to use?
While fraction strips are a great way to enable learners to formulate an insight about fractions and mixed numbers, they are also great tools to break the whole number into different equals and more. Apart from this, these fraction strips will boost conceptual learning which makes the understanding of the concept more practically, rather than rote learning. When students see in person how these strips are divided into equal fractions, and later, when they practically add and subtract strips from one another, they learn about fractions better and can retain in for a longer time. Therefore, teachers, educators, and parents must encourage students to use these fraction strips during playtime, homework, class quizzes, and even while playing some online games.
These fraction strips can be great options for homeschoolers as well, as they are poles apart from the traditional method of learning. It can make them more excited about the concept and help them perform better. Although homeschoolers cannot indulge in group activities, they can perform fractions using fraction strips so that they have a better grasp of the topic.
These fraction strips would promote more fun and playful learning environment for students and help them relate to what they have learned theoretically.
How to make the best use of fraction strips – Possible strategies
We have talked about using the fraction strips for addition and subtraction in our previous posts. At the same time, you can use fraction strip printables which can help the students to have a better idea of making and employing fraction strips. It also helps students understand the whole concept better; all in all, it is a great manipulative, but how can the educators use them to make the learning process fun and engaging?
Following are some different ways to employ fraction strips in order to have the maximum benefit.
- Using fraction strips not as a concept but as an activity can be a great idea. This will help students understand fractions better and allow collaboration as the teachers and students would participate together.
- They can be great creative tools. Students can create their own customized fraction strips, which enhance their creativity and encourage them to use these strips more often.
- There are many things in our surrounding which employ the concept of fraction strips. Ask students to find such things like the floor tiles, three consecutive windows (They’re equal in length and width) etc.
- To get the best outcome from these fraction strips, educators can also set rewards whenever the child is able to complete or successfully solve a problem using the fraction strips.
- The students can be asked to make fraction strips for improper and mixed fraction, and the teachers can award the one which is accurate in terms of measurement of equal parts and correct labelling! This would encourage the students to perform better and be more creative with their strips.
Conclusion
Online gaming is often considered to have an adverse effect on a child’s development. But, when learning and gaming blend together to suit the requirements of both the students and their teachers, what could be better?
With the games mentioned above, children can polish their knowledge of fractions and have fun simultaneously. Of course, excessive use of digital applications can prove to be counterproductive. But, when used in the right manner, they can make complex problems appear super-easy and entertaining.
Fractions might not be a very easily understandable topic for younger students. However, these games can remove all sorts of question marks with interesting representations and features and boost their curiosity in the subject matter to a surprising level.
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,