Fractions / Pie Charts
Pie Charts for Learning Fractions
Math concepts can be tough to learn. In part that’s because written numbers and equations are very abstract, and not all learners are abstract thinkers. In fact, small children can’t think abstractly, it’s just not how their minds work. Fractions are one of the tricky, abstract math concepts that children need to learn. Teachers have known for a long time that showing fractions visually helps children understand the concept of equal parts more quickly. A pizza pie is often used to explain how to divide an object into fractions. Other shapes, like rectangular bars, work, too. A pie chart is a graphic organizer that works in the same way as a pizza. It can be used to help students show and understand fractions. The chart forms a circle which can be divided into many equal parts. By coloring the chart using different colors, students begin to see the pieces as equal parts of the whole. Use a blank pie chart to help students practice the concept of different fractions. As students divide the chart into equal parts, they will be using the denominator. Then they will color the correct number of parts to represent the numerator. Students can use this graphic organizer to help them understand and use fractions.
