Printable fractions

What is a fraction?

A fraction is a part of a whole that was split into equal parts. The bottom number, the denominator, tells how many equal parts the whole was split into. The top number, the numerator, tells how many of those parts were taken. In 3/4, the whole has four equal parts and three were taken. Here you print fraction worksheets.

How to use it

1. Pick the activity: shade, identify, compare or equivalent.
2. Pick the level: easy, medium or hard.
3. Tap Make a new sheet until you find one you like.
4. Tick the answer option if you want to print the solved sheet.
5. Tap Print the sheet. In the print window, keep the scale at 100% (or choose Fit to page on Letter paper).

How to explain fractions

• A fraction only works with equal parts. Fold a sheet in half and then in half again to show four equal parts.
• The denominator, at the bottom, is the total number of equal parts in the whole. The numerator, at the top, is how many parts were shaded.
• With the same denominator, the fraction with the bigger numerator is greater: 3/5 is greater than 2/5.
• With the same numerator, the fraction with the smaller denominator is greater: 1/3 is greater than 1/4, because each part is bigger.
• Equivalent fractions show the same amount. Multiplying or dividing the numerator and the denominator by the same number gives an equivalent fraction: 1/2 = 2/4 = 3/6.
• When the numerator is bigger than the denominator, the fraction is worth more than one whole and is called improper: 5/4 is one whole plus one fourth.

The four activities

• Shade: nine blank shapes, each with the fraction to shade.
• Identify: nine shapes with shaded parts and small boxes for the numerator and the denominator.
• Compare: eight pairs of fractions with bars of the same size, to circle the greater one. There is never a tie.
• Equivalent: eight equations with a missing number and two helper bars, one already shaded and one to shade.

Which level to choose

• Easy: halves, thirds and fourths.
• Medium: also fifths, sixths and eighths.
• Hard: from thirds to twelfths. In shade and identify, three fractions are improper and use two equal shapes, each one worth one whole.
• In equivalent, the denominator goes up to 12 at every level. On easy the starting fraction is a half, a third or a fourth. On medium simplifying comes in. On hard any of the four numbers may be missing.

What the sheet looks like

• Circles split into sectors with the same angle, bars and rectangles split into parts of the same size.
• The shaded part is drawn with lines, not color, so it prints well in black and white.
• The bottom of the sheet has a reference strip with the name of each fraction in words.
• The top of the sheet has lines for name and date.

Frequently asked questions