How to Use Interactive Fractions
- Pick the school year. The levels follow the order fractions are usually taught in Singapore primary schools, from halves and quarters in P1 to mixed numbers with different denominators in P6. The note under the buttons says what each level covers.
- Pick an activity. Start with Shade and Name until the pictures make sense, then move on to Compare and to Add & subtract.
- Choose 5, 10 or 20 questions and press Start. Short rounds work best for younger children.
- Answer each question by tapping slices, tapping a choice, or typing the numbers. Press Check (or Enter) to mark it.
- Read the answer after a mistake. The right answer appears with a picture or the worked steps, and the question is saved for the fix round.
- Press “Fix the ones I missed” at the end. Only the wrong questions come back, so there is no need to redo the whole round.
The Four Activities
| Activity | What your child does | What it builds |
|---|---|---|
| Shade the fraction | Taps the slices of a circle or the parts of a bar to colour in a fraction such as 3/4. From P3 the shape may be cut into more parts than the denominator, so 2/3 has to be shaded as 4 of 6 parts. From P4 there are several shapes for mixed numbers such as 1 3/4. | What the top and bottom numbers mean; equivalent fractions; fractions greater than one whole |
| Name the fraction | Looks at a shaded shape and picks (P1–P2) or types (P3 up) the fraction it shows, in simplest form from P3 and as a mixed number from P4. | Counting equal parts; simplifying; reading mixed numbers from pictures |
| Compare & equivalent | Chooses <, = or > between two fractions, fills in the missing number in a pair of equal fractions, and changes between improper fractions and mixed numbers. | Unit fractions (1/3 is bigger than 1/4), common denominators, equivalence |
| Add & subtract | Types the answer to a sum such as 1/2 + 1/3 or 3 1/4 − 1 2/3. A wrong answer shows the steps: rename to a common denominator, add or subtract the top numbers, simplify, and change to a mixed number. | Like, related and unlike denominators; mixed numbers; renaming |
What Each Level Covers
| Level | Fractions in the questions |
|---|---|
| P1 | A head start: halves, thirds and quarters of a circle; comparing 1/2, 1/3 and 1/4. No adding yet. |
| P2 | Fractions of a whole up to twelfths; comparing unit fractions and like fractions; adding and subtracting like fractions within one whole. |
| P3 | Equivalent fractions and simplest form; comparing related fractions such as 2/3 and 5/6; adding and subtracting related fractions within one whole. |
| P4 | Mixed numbers and improper fractions; shading and naming more than one whole; adding and subtracting related fractions with answers greater than 1. |
| P5 | Comparing, adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators, such as 2/3 + 3/4. |
| P6 | Revision at a harder pace: mixed numbers with unlike denominators, including subtraction that needs renaming, such as 3 1/4 − 1 2/3. |
Why Pictures Come First
Singapore maths teaches new ideas in three steps: concrete (real objects), pictorial (drawings and bar models) and abstract (numbers and symbols). Fractions are where skipping the middle step hurts most. A child who has only seen 3/4 written down can easily think it is “3 and 4”, or that 1/8 is bigger than 1/4 because 8 is bigger than 4.
Shading slices makes the meaning of the two numbers physical: the bottom number says how many equal parts the whole is cut into, and the top number says how many of those parts we take. The fraction wall does the same job for equivalence. When 1/2, 2/4 and 3/6 light up as exactly the same length, the rule “multiply the top and bottom by the same number” stops being a trick and becomes something your child has seen.
Once the pictures are familiar, the Compare and Add & subtract activities move to numbers, but the pictures and worked steps come back whenever an answer is wrong.
Simplest Form and Mixed Numbers
From P3, schools expect answers in simplest form, so the page does too. If your child types 2/4 where the answer is 1/2, the page says the amount is right and asks for the simplest form. That attempt is not counted as wrong, because the hard part, working out the amount, was correct. From P4, answers greater than 1 should be mixed numbers: type the whole number in the first box and the fraction in the two boxes beside it. For a whole-number answer, fill in only the first box.
Tips for Parents and Teachers
- Say fractions out loud. “Three quarters” means three parts, each one quarter of the whole. Saying it this way makes 3/4 + 1/4 = 4/4 = 1 feel obvious.
- Use the fraction wall when comparing. Before your child chooses < or >, ask them to find both fractions on the wall and see which reaches further.
- Talk about wrong answers. A common mistake in adding is to add the bottom numbers too (1/2 + 1/3 = 2/5). Ask: is 2/5 bigger or smaller than 1/2? Since the answer must be bigger than 1/2, 2/5 can’t be right.
- Keep rounds short and often. A five-question round each day works better than one long session a week.
- Practise on paper too. The worksheet generator prints fraction worksheets with answer keys, and our guide to teaching fractions has more ideas for home.
Nothing to Install, Nothing Stored on Our Server
Interactive Fractions runs entirely in your browser on any phone, tablet or computer. There is no account and no download. The last level and activity you picked are remembered on this device, and nothing about your child’s answers is sent to us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Choose your child’s school year. P1 is a gentle start with halves, thirds and quarters. P2 covers fractions of a whole up to twelfths. P3 adds equivalent fractions and simplest form. P4 brings in mixed numbers and improper fractions. P5 and P6 add and subtract fractions with different denominators. If a round feels too hard, drop one level for a few rounds.
From P3 onwards, yes, as in school. If your child types the right amount but not in simplest form, such as 2/4 instead of 1/2, the page says the amount is right and asks them to simplify. That try is not marked wrong. From P4, an answer greater than 1 should be written as a mixed number.
The page shows the right answer straight away with a picture or the worked steps, such as renaming both fractions to the same denominator. At the end of the round, the “Fix the ones I missed” button brings back exactly the questions that were wrong, so your child does not have to redo the whole round.
A fraction wall is a stack of bars of the same length, each cut into a different number of equal parts: halves, thirds, quarters and so on. Tap any piece and the wall colours the same length in every row, so you can see that 1/2, 2/4, 3/6, 4/8, 5/10 and 6/12 are all the same amount.
Yes. There is no account, no download and no limit on rounds. It works in any browser on a phone, tablet or computer, and nothing about your child’s answers is sent to us.