Fractions on a Number Line

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1 Getting Started
2 Watch and Notice
3 Try It Together
4 Draw the Line in Your Copy
5 Class Challenge
6 What Did We Notice?
7 What's Next
Pupil practice

1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

Illustration for Getting Started Picture a 100 metre running track. The start line is 0 and the finish line is 1 whole race. If a runner is at the halfway point, exactly where on the track are they standing?

Hands up: where would halfway be, and how could you be sure it really is the middle?

Teacher Notes

Take three hands-up answers, not open call-outs. Give five seconds of quiet think-time first. Listen for the word middle or halfway and revoice it as one half. Don't reveal the answer yet — in the next step we split the line into equal jumps and explain how each fraction lands on its point.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+5 XP

2 - Watch and Notice ~9 mins

Illustration for Watch and Notice

One half on the line

Here is the trick we use every time: the bottom number of a fraction tells us how many equal jumps to split the gap into, and the top number tells us how many of those jumps to count. For one half, the bottom number is 2, so we split 0 to 1 into 2 equal jumps. The top number is 1, so we count 1 jump. That lands us exactly in the middle.

One quarter on the line

For one quarter, the bottom number is 4, so we split the same gap into 4 equal jumps. The top number is 1, so we count 1 jump. That lands close to the start.

One third on the line

For one third, the bottom number is 3, so this time we split the gap into 3 equal jumps. The top number is 1, so we count 1 jump. Notice the jumps are wider than the quarter jumps, because we made fewer of them.

Three quarters on the line

Back to 4 equal jumps for three quarters, because the bottom number is 4. This time the top number is 3, so we count 3 jumps. That lands close to the finish.

Teacher Notes

Walk each example one at a time. Each time, say the rule aloud as the board shows it: the bottom number is how many equal jumps, the top number is how many we count.

One half — point to the meeting point of the two jumps; ask why it is in the middle.
One quarter — ask the class to count the jumps before you confirm.
One third — note the line is split into 3 this time, not 4; the gap is wider. Point to the tick the marker snaps to so pupils see it sits on the first jump.
Three quarters — say count the jumps, not the marks and count three of the four aloud.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+10 XP

3 - Try It Together ~11 mins

Today we explore together: when a fraction is called out, place its point on the line between 0 and 1. First we decide how many equal jumps to split the gap into, then we count the jumps.

Place the called fraction between 0 and 1

Teacher Notes

This round is for talking it through together — pupils take turns at the board and the class agrees or corrects out loud.

Call one fraction at a time (one half, one quarter, one third, two thirds). For each, ask the pupil at the board: how many equal jumps? before they place the marker. The class confirms the jump count first, then watches the placement. Revoice a strong answer: so the bottom number set the jumps, and we counted up.

+15 XP

4 - Draw the Line in Your Copy ~5 mins

COPYBOOK MOMENT

Illustration for Draw the Line in Your Copy In your maths copy, draw a line from 0 to 1. Split it into four equal jumps using your ruler. Then label one half at the point exactly in the middle.

Teacher Notes

Walk the room glancing for equal-sized jumps and that one half lands on the second tick. No marking — this is whole-class copybook practice, not assessment. If pupils finish early, they may also label one quarter and three quarters.

+10 XP

5 - Class Challenge ~7 mins

Today we work through these fractions one at a time: place one half, then one quarter, then one third, then two thirds on the line between 0 and 1. Each time, decide the equal jumps first, then place the point and check.

Place fractions between 0 and 1

Teacher Notes

This round is the practice bank — pupils take turns at the board, check each answer, and the class confirms before moving on. Keep the board work brisk rather than over-explaining.

The point a pupil places is the fraction they work out. Remind them to count the equal jumps, not the marks. Watch for pupils placing one third at one quarter's spot — the line must be split into 3, not 4.

+15 XP

6 - What Did We Notice? ~3 mins

MATHS TALK

We placed one half on the number line by splitting the gap into 2 equal jumps. Now picture a pizza split into 2 equal slices, and you take 1 slice. How is the point on the line the same as that slice of pizza? Both show one half — the same amount, just drawn in a different picture.

Teacher Notes

Listen for pupils saying the line and the pizza both split the whole into the same equal parts. Revoice a strong answer: so one half is one half, whether we slice a pizza or split a line. Head off the idea that a longer line means a bigger fraction — it is the equal jumps that matter.

+10 XP

7 - What's Next ~3 mins

What we learned today

A fraction is a point between 0 and 1 on the number line.
The bottom number tells us how many equal jumps to split the gap into; the top number tells us how many to count.
One half on the line is the same amount as one half of a whole shape.

Coming up

Next we will line up fractions to find ones that name the very same amount, like one half and two quarters.

Teacher Notes

Keep this brisk. Use the recap bullets to settle the class before the activity-book page.

+5 XP

Pupil practice

Module 3 · Fractions and First Decimals Number

Lesson 31 · Fractions on a Number Line

Download Activity Book page (PDF)

End of lesson

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Teacher Class Feed

1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

2 - Watch and Notice ~9 mins

One half on the line

One quarter on the line

One third on the line

Three quarters on the line

3 - Try It Together ~11 mins

Place the called fraction between 0 and 1

4 - Draw the Line in Your Copy ~5 mins

5 - Class Challenge ~7 mins

Place fractions between 0 and 1

6 - What Did We Notice? ~3 mins

7 - What's Next ~3 mins

What we learned today

Coming up

Unlock the full learning experience

XP