Give five seconds of quiet think-time before any hands go up, then take two or three answers. Don't reveal the method yet — just let pupils share their first instinct (some will say 6, some will count). The point is to wake up the idea that fair sharing is what fractions of a set are about.

Walk each strip aloud, one at a time. Point to the split lines before you point to the shading: first we cut into equal parts, then we shade.

• One half — two equal parts, shade one. Say the bottom number tells how many equal parts.
• One quarter — four equal parts; ask which is smaller, a half or a quarter, and why.
• One third — three equal parts; emphasise the parts must be the same size.

Do not move on until the class can say the rule back to you: split into equal parts, then take the parts you want.

This round is for talking it through together — one pupil shades at the board and the class agrees or corrects out loud. Watching the board is how the rest of the class takes part.

The board shows four strips already split into the right number of equal parts: halves, quarters, thirds, then quarters again. Send one pupil up to shade each one in turn — one half, then one quarter, then one third, then two quarters. Ask the class: are the parts equal? how do you know? Revoice a strong answer: so the more parts we cut, the smaller each part gets. On the last strip, draw out that two quarters reaches exactly the same far edge as one half. Watch for the common slip of treating the shading as random rather than counting from the left — that is the misconception to head off.

This round is the practice bank — one pupil leads each task at the board while every pupil works the same task with their own counters and strip at their desk. The class confirms each answer before moving on. Keep the board work brisk rather than over-explaining.

Circulate and catch the slip of unequal groups on the spot. The class reads each result aloud and you reconcile any disagreement.

• One half of 10 — share into 2 groups, each is 5.
• One quarter of 8 — share into 4 groups, each is 2.
• One third of 9 — share into 3 groups, each is 3.
• One half of a 12 cm strip — fold once, each half is 6 cm.

Keep this brisk. Recap the one big idea — equal parts first — and bridge to the number line by reminding pupils that a fraction can also be a point on a line.