Year 3 Compare and order unit fractions worksheet

“Bigger bottom, smaller piece” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 3 maths unit “Compare and order unit fractions”, for children aged 7 to 8, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 27 to 28 of the year, 5 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Bigger bottom, smaller piece

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 3 · Maths · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can compare unit fractions by looking at the denominator.

A Look back3 min

1.
Half of 10 is
2.
One third of 12 is
3.
7 9

B Watch me, then you4 min

Which is smaller, 1/2 or 1/4? Look at the pieces, not just the bottom numbers.

Watch me

Cut a bar into 2 equal parts. One part is 1/2.

Cut the same bar into 4 equal parts. One part is 1/4.

The 4-part piece is smaller, so 1/4 is the smaller fraction.

Now you

1.
Which is smaller, 1/3 or 1/6? Circle it.
1/31/6

C Your turn6 min

Circle the sign that makes each statement true.

1.
Circle the sign: 1/3 ___ 1/5
<>
2.
Circle the sign: 1/3 ___ 1/6
<>
3.
Circle the sign: 1/4 ___ 1/3
<>
4.
Circle the sign: 1/10 ___ 1/9
<>

Say it out loud: Which number tells you how many equal pieces the whole is cut into? What does that tell you about each piece?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Kit says: “1/8 is greater than 1/2, because 8 is bigger than 2.”

1.
Circle the greater fraction: 1/2 or 1/8.
1/21/8

E Think deeper4 min

1.
Which unit fractions with denominators from 2 to 6 are smaller than 1/2? Write the denominators.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Bigger bottom, smaller piece · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. 5

2. 4

3. <

B

1. 1/6

C

1. > If your child circles <, they may think the bigger bottom number makes the bigger fraction. Ask whether thirds or fifths of the same bar are bigger.

2. >

3. < If your child circles >, ask which piece is bigger, a third or a quarter of the same bar. Cutting into 3 makes bigger pieces than cutting into 4.

4. <

D

1. 1/2 If your child circles 1/8, they are using the bigger bottom number. Ask which bar has bigger pieces, then circle 1/2 instead.

E

1. 3, 4, 5, 6 If your child includes 2, remind them that 1/2 is not smaller than itself. Only denominators bigger than 2 give smaller pieces.

Words to use

Say“Which piece is bigger, and how do you know?”

Instead of“Tell them the bigger bottom number is the bigger fraction.”

After the sheet

Fold three paper strips of the same length into 2, 3 and 6 equal parts. Line them up and compare the pieces.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

4 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Bigger bottom, smaller piece(with a plan)
When fractions can be compared(with a plan)
Which piece is bigger?(with a plan)
Bigger bottom, smaller piece(with a plan)

Every Year 3 maths worksheet

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