3rd Grade Writing Fractions as Unit Fraction Sums Worksheet: Tick One

Any fraction can be built by adding the same small piece again and again. This 3rd grade writing fractions as unit fraction sums worksheet has six questions, numbered 1 to 6, and each one asks the same thing. Which expression shows the fraction as a sum of unit fractions? The fractions are 4/5, 5/8, 2/4, 3/6, 7/11 and 5/12. Under each question, there are three sums with a tick box beside each one. Only one sum uses pieces with a numerator of 1, and it has as many pieces as the top number says. A boy jumps for joy at the top, and two girls in headscarves hold hands at the bottom. Page two ticks the right sum for every item and draws a model for item 1.

Six ticks to check

The right choices are the second, third, second, first, third and first sums. For 4/5, the answer is 1/5 + 1/5 + 1/5 + 1/5, and the key shows it as a strip with 4 of its 5 parts shaded. All the ticks in the key are right.

The wrong choices are clever traps. Some add up to the right total but use a piece like 2/5, which is not a unit fraction. Others, like 2/5 + 3/5 for 5/12, change the denominator. Breaking a fraction into unit fractions is a fourth grade standard, and 11ths and 12ths go past third grade, so treat this page as a stretch.

At the table: count the pieces

Ask your child to read the top number of the fraction first. It tells how many unit fractions the right sum must have, so for 7/11 they need seven pieces of 1/11. Then they count the pieces in each choice and look at every bottom number.

The page has one small layout slip. On page two, the choices for item 6 touch the line at the foot of the page. The maths is still clear, so this does not change any answer.

After the page: paper strips

Cut a paper strip into 6 equal parts and shade 3 of them. Then ask your child to write the shaded part as a sum, 1/6 + 1/6 + 1/6. Next, shade a different number of parts and try again. Finally, check the six ticks with the answer key on page two.