Body fractions: A physical approach to fraction learning

Abstract

Many students experience great difficulty understanding the meaning of fractions (Anthony & Walshaw, 2007; Behr, Lesh, Post & Silver, 1983; Davis, Hunting & Pearn, 1993; Lamon, 2007; Verschaffel, Greer & Torbeyns, 2006; Young-Loveridge, Taylor, Hawera & Sharma, 2007). For many students who have spent their early mathematics lessons focusing on counting (whole) numbers, recognising that there are many numbers between those whole numbers called fractional numbers, is quite revolutionary. The foundation of understanding fractions is the idea that they are parts of a whole. The fact that one whole object can be divided into many equal parts, with each part having a name relative to the original whole, opens up a whole new realm of number understanding for the students.