Thursday, July 17, 2014

Equivalent Fractions Musical Plates

Get children up and moving with this fun, kinesthetic fraction activity! Children are given a fraction and dance around to music, trying to find its equivalent. Written and visual representations of fractions are used to assess children's understanding!

post-it notes
paper plates
sharpie to write fractions
visual representations of fractions to glue on plate

Give each student a fraction written on a post-it note. Students remember their fraction and stick it on their shirt. Next, lay out the paper plates with fractions written (or pasted) on them. You should make a variety of equivalent fraction plates for each student and spread them far apart. Then, each student will have to really look to find a plate that is equivalent.

Start up the music and children dance and hunt for a fraction that is equivalent to their own. When they find a fraction that is equivalent, they stand on the paper plate. If they don't find an equivalent fraction before the music stops, they're out! For each round, students keep hunting for fractions. Once there are no more fractions that are equivalent to their own, they sit out. They found all of their fractions! 

This activity can be played as a whole group or with small groups to assess the children's learning. 


  1. Love it! I’m sharing this post on my #TrendingInMath feature tomorrow!

  2. Great ideas but please do not promote the use os styrofoam. It will just end up in a landfill or burned and in our air. Thank you.

    1. The picture shows paper plates. For styrofoam cup learning, the cups are reused. I have used the same cups over and over again. Before I give them to the children, I tell them to treat items in the classroom with respect. The cups stay intact. I adhere the images with packaging tape. The cups can be wiped off easy with clorox wipes. Styrofoam cups are the best for these activities because they have a large rim. Children can see words on the rim when they stack the cups. Once cups wear and tear, there is no need to dispose them! Children can recycle them and create artwork! :)