L5 Recognise and Find One Third

Working Without Worksheets – Year 2 Fractions: Finding One Third (1/3) This Working Without Worksheets lesson introduces Year 2 pupils to the concept of thirds , building on their knowledge of halves and quarters. Through practical folding activities, visual models, and a real-world flag activity, children learn how to recognise and find one third of shapes and quantities . The lesson begins with a starter activity : Recap prior learning in fractions, multiplication and division, and addition and subtraction . Practise folding scrap paper into halves and then quarters, exploring different ways of doing this. Label the fractions on each part, reinforcing notation and the equivalence of 1/2 = 2/4 . In the main input , children are introduced to thirds : Explore the word third , linking it to ordinal numbers (third = three). Explain that one third means one part out of three equal parts . Show how this is written as a fraction: 1/3 . Look at shapes divided into three equal parts, emphasising that any of the parts could be shaded to show 1/3. Move on to finding one third of quantities , using the sweets example . Practise completing sentences such as “1/3 of 9 = 3” . For the independent activity , children explore thirds through flags of the world : Provide a sheet of flags, some split into three equal parts and some not. In maths books, create two headings: Thirds and Not Thirds . Cut and stick the flags into the correct columns, discussing why. Extension: design their own flag split into thirds, ensuring the parts are equal. The plenary reinforces learning: Share examples of flags that correctly show thirds. Ask children to explain why some flags do not show thirds (unequal parts). Reinforce fraction vocabulary: third, equal parts, numerator, denominator, one third. What’s Included in the Pack? ✔ Full teacher planning with objectives, vocabulary, and assessment questions ✔ Starter: folding paper into halves and quarters, labelling fractions ✔ Teacher modelling: introd