Partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares.
Describe the shares as halves and fourths, as half of and fourth of.
Describe the whole as two, or four of the shares.
Explain that decomposing into more equal shares creates smaller shares.
Step 1: Lesson Standards & Learning Goals
In this standard, students partition circles and rectangles (including squares) into two and four equal shares. The first 2 bullets of the standard call for students to describe both the shares and wholes based on the number of shares that the whole was partitioned into. As stated in the first bullet of the standard students use the phrases “halves” “half of”, “fourths,” and “fourth of” to describe the shares that were created. The focus of this standard is the third bullet, which states that students are expected to explain that decomposing a whole into more shares will make the shares or pieces smaller. Specifically, students should examine a whole partitioned into halves and the same sized whole partitioned into fourths and explain why fourths are smaller than halves.
Students should not be introduced to the idea of writing a fraction with a numerator or denominator until third grade. Working with “the whole”, students understand that “the whole” is composed of two halves or four fourths. This standard provides multiple opportunities for students to explore contexts and word problems that involve partitioning circles and rectangles (including squares). Contexts could include, but should not be limited to, paper plates at a picnic, art projects, or food contexts such as pizza or cakes.
How can I partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares?
What names can be given to the equal shares?
How can we divide a circle or rectangle into equal parts?
What is the relationship between the size of the partitions and the size of the whole shape?
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Partition squares, rectangles, and circles into equal parts.
Describe the shares both the shares and wholes based on the number of shares that the whole was partitioned into
Use the phrases “halves” “half of”, “fourths,” and “fourth of” to describe the shares that were created
Explain that decomposing a whole into more shares will make the shares or pieces smaller
Examine a whole partitioned into halves and the same sized whole partitioned into fourths and explain why fourths are smaller than halves.
A region can be divided into equal-sized parts in different ways. These equal-sized parts have specific names depending on how many parts they were divided into.
When a shape is cut into two equal pieces, each piece will equal one-half of its original whole.
When a shape is cut into four equal pieces, each piece will equal one-fourth of its original whole.
One fourth of a shape is smaller than one half of a shape.
Step 2: Assessment
Step 3: Lesson Instructions
Tools 4 NC Teachers
Cluster 7 Lessons
Math Expressions - (Barnes and Hearne) - Standards Alignment
Motivation Math
Think Up! Math
Khan Academy - 1st Grade Math
Eureka Math/Engage NY Free Resources
G1 M5 Topic C: Halves and Quarters of Rectangles and Circles
G1 M5 Topic D: Application of Halves to Tell Time
Zearn Math - Online Support Practice for Eureka Math (Requires free account)
North Carolina Collaborative for Mathematics Learning - Grade 1 Instructional Framework
NCDPI Resources
Grade 1 Math Assessment Practice Prompts
