Partition Shapes into Equal Shares

Students will partition circles and rectangles into two equal shares (halves) or four equal shares (fourths/quarters). Students describe the shares using the words halves, half of, fourths, and quarter, and understand that more equal parts means each part is smaller.

Try three of them

Real questions from this skill, graded here. No account, and nothing is saved.

Grade 1 · Geometry: Shapes and Their Attributes · question 1 of 3

0 of 12

12 rungs. A star at the top.

Count the equal shares.

Your answer:

How it is taught

0:00 of 2:23

Equal shares are pieces that match in size.

More shares make each piece smaller.

Read it: Fair shares are the same size

Shape A is cut into 2 equal shares: halves. Shape B has 2 shares too, but they are not the same size, so they are not halves.

Count the shares.
Check that every share is the same size.
2 equal shares are halves. 4 equal shares are fourths.

Fair means every share is the same amount.

Halves are 2 equal shares; fourths are 4 equal shares.

More shares, smaller shares: a fourth is smaller than a half.

Equal shares are the same size. 2 are halves, 4 are fourths. More shares, smaller shares.

Calling any 2 shares halves.

Shape B has 2 shares, but one is bigger. Halves are 2 equal shares, like shape A.

A pizza is cut into 4 equal shares. Mia eats 1 share. How many shares are left? — 3. 4 shares take away 1 is 3 shares.

Halves and fourths of a bar

Here is a long granola bar. Right now it is one whole piece.

Let's share it with a friend. We cut the bar into two equal parts.

Two equal parts are called halves. The shaded piece is one half of the bar.

Now imagine sharing with three friends. We cut a new bar into four equal parts.

Four equal parts are called fourths, or quarters. The shaded piece is one fourth.

Look at the shaded pieces. A half is bigger than a fourth.

Grade 1 · Sharing fairly into equal parts

The more equal shares we make, the smaller each share becomes. Nice work!

What you see

While they climb, your page writes one true line to ask about tonight, and a short note each Sunday.

MayaGrade 3 · Mathematics

Did you know?

A chessboard has 64 squares — share them out between the 8 rows and each row holds exactly 8.

Today’s goal: 1 star — one skill mastered, every rung of its ladder climbed
Climbing now: Divide within 100

An example student.

MayaGrade 3 · Mathematics

Maya earned 2 stars this week — Interpret multiplication as equal groups, which took 6 answers over 3 days before its star landed 3 days ago and Multiply by 6, 7, 8 and 9. Next up: Divide within 100.

An example week.

More of the library

Every skill has a page

Standard

CCSS.1.G.A.3

Partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares, describe the shares, and understand that decomposing into equal shares creates smaller shares

Grade 1

Quoted from the Common Core State Standards.

Where this sits

Comes after

Leads to

What a star here means

A star here is the top of a twelve-rung ladder, in four blocks of equal length — three of facts and one of the skill used in a real question — where a right answer climbs one rung and a wrong one drops back to the start of the block, never below it. The star is kept for good. How we grade

All of Grade 1

This is one rung of 61 in Grade 1 mathematics, in the order they build on each other.

Practise this skill free

14 days of every skill, practice packets, Fluency sheets and up to four students. No card.

Start free