Discuss the term equivalent fraction with your child. Ask him to explain what it means. You can give the example that mowing 1/2 of the yard is the same as mowing 2/4, 3/6, 4/8, or 5/10 of the same yard.
Find opportunities in your daily activities to talk about fractions and equivalent fractions. For example, you can review fractions and name equivalent fractions when cutting foods into equal units (e.g., an apple, a watermelon, a pie, a pan of brownies or lasagna, a sandwich, or a pizza). If you walk half of a block and your child walks a quarter of a block, who walked the shorter distance? Who walked the longer distance?
Play the Find the Equivalent Fraction card game with your child: 1. Take out the jacks, queens, kings, aces, and jokers; 2. Put the stack of remaining cards facedown; 3. Flip a card, and have your child flip a card; 4. Both you and your child arrange the cards as a fraction, using the smaller number as the numerator and the larger number as the denominator; 5. Ask, “What’s an equivalent fraction to this fraction?” For example, you flip the number 10, and your child flips the number 4. Those numbers represent the fraction 4/10. You ask, “What’s an equivalent fraction to 4/10 ?” Some possible answers are 2/5, 8/20, 12/30.
Practice the Call and Response activity with your child. You say a fraction less than 1. Your child says the fraction with the same denominator that makes 1 when added to your fraction. For example, you say, “ 1/3 .” He says, “ 2/3 .”
Play the Comparing Fractions dice game with your child: 1. Roll two dice; 2. Have your child roll two dice; 3. Arrange each pair of dice as a fraction, using the smaller number rolled as the numerator and the larger number rolled as the denominator; 4. Write the two fractions and ask, “Which fraction is closer to 1 whole?” For example, you roll the numbers 2 and 3. They represent the fraction 2/3 . Your child rolls the numbers 6 and 1. They represent the fraction 1/6. You write 2/3 and 1/6 , and ask, “Which fraction is closer to 1 whole?” He says, “ 2/3 .”
Play the Fraction Multiplication card game with your child: 1. Take out the jacks, queens, kings, aces, and jokers; 2. Put the stack of remaining cards facedown; 3. Flip two cards to represent a fraction. Use the smaller number as the numerator and the larger number as the denominator; 4. Have your child flip one card to represent a whole number; 5. Write the multiplication expression of the fraction times the whole number, and ask your child to solve. For example: you flip the numbers 3 and 5. They represent the fraction 3/5 . Your child flips the number 7. You write 3/5 x 7. He writes 3 x 7/5 = 21/5 = 4 and 1/5.