3rd Grade Fractions as Area Models Worksheet: Write the Shaded Part

A fraction tells how many equal parts are shaded out of the whole. This 3rd grade fractions as area models worksheet has a worked example and six models, numbered 1 to 6. Each model is a rectangle or a square cut into equal parts, and orange paint fills some of the parts. The example has 6 parts with 3 shaded, so it shows 3/6, and the text below it explains each step. In items 1 to 6, your child counts all the parts first, then the shaded ones. They write the shaded count on top of the fraction bar and the total number of parts below it. A boy sits on yellow balloons beside the example. Page two gives every fraction in pink.

Six fractions to check

The answers are 1/4, 7/12, 3/4, 5/8, 1/2 and 4/5. In item 2, the shaded squares sit in all three rows, so your child must count them one by one to reach 7. Item 4 has 4 shaded parts on top and 1 below, which gives 5 out of 8. All the answers in the key are right.

Items 3 and 6 look alike at first, with long orange strips, but they are not the same at all. Item 3 has 4 strips, while item 6 has 5. That is why counting the whole first matters so much. Writing the fraction of a shape like this is a key third grade skill.

At the table: top, then bottom

Teach your child a short rule: shaded on top, all parts on the bottom. They can tick each part with a pencil as they count, so they never count the same part twice. Then they read the fraction aloud, such as "five eighths".

The text has a few slips. The title says "Understand fraction as area models", but "Understanding fractions as area models" is right. The instruction "Write fraction for the area models" needs "the". In the worked example, "three - sixth" should read "three-sixths". The fraction notation in the answer boxes is correct throughout.

After the page: a chocolate bar

Take a chocolate bar or a cracker with squares. Then break off a few squares and ask your child what fraction of the whole bar has now gone missing. Next, let your child break some off and ask you. Finally, check the six fractions with the answer key on page two.