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Day 16 · Fix the whole before comparingYear 6 Maths · T1 W3–4 · Day 16 lesson

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Year 6 / Mathematics / Term 1 / Weeks 03 04

Part of the full two-week lesson sequence. Check the pack guide and taught point before teaching.

Open for this lesson: Pack guide · Sources and materials · Daily routes · Worked swaps · Fresh learner checks · Aids and text routes.

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Teacher copy: This page may include teaching prompts or answer keys. Answer keys in this public library can be viewed by anyone. Give learners a clean prompt, use checks as formative evidence, and change a case locally when prior access matters.

Learner prompts

Code: AC9M6N03. Goal: locate 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 in order on one 0–1 line. Prepare: fraction line and equal-whole bars or 12 equal tactile strips.

  1. Launch · 2 min. Ask why “one half is bigger than one third” needs the same-size whole.
  2. Model · 5 min. Mark 0 and 1, then 12 equal spaces. Place 1/4 at gap 3, 1/3 at gap 4, 1/2 at gap 6. Explain 3/12 < 4/12 < 6/12; point to the same endpoint 1 for all.
  3. Guided · 6 min. Learners use bars split into 2, 3, 4 or 12 equal parts and map 1/2=6/12, 1/3=4/12. Ask whether gap 6 on a different 6-gap 0–1 line has the same value as gap 6 on this 12-gap line. No: 6/6=1, while 6/12=1/2; the scale matters.
  4. Choice · 6 min. D16-A/B/C: line, recipe-share cards or a musical-cycle fraction route; each uses one whole and justifies order.
  5. Exit · 4 min. On the same whole, order 1/2, 1/4, 1/3: 1/4 < 1/3 < 1/2. Explain by twelfths or equal bars, not denominator size alone.
  6. Note · 2 min. Record whether endpoints and equal spacing were checked. If not, restore a shared whole before rechecking.

Home/extension: Fold a paper strip into 2 then 4 equal parts, or draw 12 gaps; no food or instrument needed. Extension: explain why differently sized physical wholes make direct piece comparisons unsafe.