Lesson 9
You Ate the Whole Thing
Lesson Purpose
Lesson Narrative
In previous lessons, students partitioned circles and rectangles into halves, thirds, and fourths and identified an equal piece of different shapes as a half of, third, of, or fourth of the shape.
In this lesson, students continue to practice partitioning circles and describe halves, thirds, and quarters of circles using the language a half of, a third of, and a quarter of to describe a piece of the shape. They also use this language to describe the whole shape as a number of equal pieces. Students recognize that a whole shape can be described as 2 halves, 3 thirds, or 4 fourths. This understanding is the foundation for students' work with a whole and fraction equivalency in grade 3.
The activities encourage students to use quarters and a quarter of when describing fourths of a circle. This word choice is used to help students connect to the language used when telling time to the half and quarter hour in upcoming lessons.
- Representation
Learning Goals
Teacher Facing
- Describe two halves, three thirds, and four fourths as one whole.
- Use “half of,” “a third of,” and “a quarter of” to describe parts of a shape.
Student Facing
- Let’s talk about the whole.
Required Materials
Materials to Gather
Required Preparation
Lesson Timeline
| Warm-up | 10 min |
| Activity 1 | 15 min |
| Activity 2 | 20 min |
| Lesson Synthesis | 10 min |
| Cool-down | 5 min |
Teacher Reflection Questions
Suggested Centers
- How Are They the Same? (1–5), Stage 2: Grade 2 Shapes (Addressing)
- Which One? (K–5), Stage 3: Grade 2 Shapes (Addressing)