Mathematics
Intermediate
50 mins
Teacher/Student led
+65 XP
Teacher-led from the board — pupils need no device
What you need:
IWB/Projector/Large Screen

Decimals and Fractions: the Same Thing Two Ways

Learn how to turn fractions into their decimal twins by dividing the top number by the bottom number. Explore why some fractions, like 1/3, give decimals that never stop.

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    Phone battery
    Phone battery

    1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

    Key point

    Illustration for Getting StartedHere are two ways of writing the same amount: 1/2 and 0.5. Where have you seen these written as the same thing before? Think about a battery at half charge, or half a pizza, or a half-price sale.

    Hands up: is 1/2 bigger than 0.5, smaller than 0.5, or exactly the same?

    2 - Watch and Notice ~9 mins

    Each battery shows the same amount three ways at once: a fraction, a decimal and a percentage. Watch how dividing the top of the fraction by the bottom gives the decimal every time.

    3 - Try It Together ~11 mins

    Key point

    Today we work through these fraction twins together on the battery: 1/8, then 3/8, then 1/5, and finally 1/3. For each one we divide the top by the bottom to work out the decimal, then set the battery to check. The last one, 1/3, has a surprise waiting.

    Find each decimal twin

    4 - Build Your Equivalence Table in Your Copy ~3 mins

    COPYBOOK MOMENT

    In your maths copy, write each fraction-decimal pair as a row, then add the per cent in a third column. Use the pairs we have met today:

    • 1/2
    • 1/4
    • 3/4
    • 2/5
    • 1/8
    • 1/3

    Mark with a star any row whose decimal is recurring (one that keeps going forever).

    5 - Class Challenge ~8 mins

    Key point

    Today we match these twins on the board: given one form, set the battery to find the matching decimal. We work through 1/2, then 1/4, then 3/4, then 1/10, then 2/5, and finally the stretch 1/8.

    The halves and quarters are the friendly ones. Tenths are new. The last one, 1/8, is the stretch item and takes three decimal places, so divide carefully and set the battery to match.

    Match the decimal twin

    Pupil practice
    Module 3 · Fractions, Decimals and Percentages Number
    Lesson 41 · Decimals and Fractions: the Same Thing Two Ways
    Download Activity Book page (PDF)
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