Fraction Worksheet Generator

How to make it

1. Choose a problem typeSeven choices: add or subtract with the same denominator, add or subtract with different ones, simplify, compare, or find an equivalent fraction.
2. Set the number of problemsFifteen is the default, three to a row, or two to a row for different denominators, which need more room; slide from 1 to 40.
3. Print the sheet and keyThe answer key repeats the layout with each answer simplified, and improper results are written as mixed numbers too.

Seven fraction skills, one per sheet

Each sheet practices a single skill, chosen in the Fraction problems menu. Add, same denominator gives problems such as 3/8 + 7/8. Subtract, same denominator gives 5/6 − 1/6, always with the larger fraction first. Add and subtract with different denominators pair two fractions whose common denominator is 24 or less, such as 2/3 + 1/4, so the numbers stay manageable without a calculator. These two types print two problems to a row, which leaves room for the longer answers.

Simplify shows one fraction, such as 12/18, that can always be reduced. Compare puts two proper fractions side by side with an empty box between them, where the child writes <, > or =. Equivalent fractions shows a fraction equal to a missing numerator over a larger denominator, as in 3/4 = ?/12, with a small box for the answer.

Denominators come from 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12, the ones children meet first, and the simplify sheets add 9, 15, 16, 18, 20 and 24. Problems are written as numbers, stacked numerator over denominator; the sheets do not draw shaded shapes or fraction bars, so if your class is still at the picture stage, have them sketch a bar beside each problem.

Adding and subtracting with the same denominator

When the denominators match, the pieces are the same size, so only the number of pieces changes. Add the numerators and keep the denominator: 3/8 + 7/8 = 10/8. Ten eighths is more than one whole, and it simplifies, so the key shows 5/4 = 1 1/4. Subtraction works the same way: 5/6 − 1/6 = 4/6, which simplifies to 2/3.

The mistake to expect here is adding the denominators too, so 3/8 + 7/8 becomes 10/16. Ask the child what an eighth is, then what a sixteenth is; if the answer is smaller pieces, adding cannot have made the pieces smaller. Drawing two bars cut into eighths settles it quickly.

Different denominators: finding a common one

To add 2/3 + 1/4, the pieces must first be made the same size. Find a number both denominators divide into; the smallest is 12. Then 2/3 = 8/12 and 1/4 = 3/12, so the sum is 11/12. For 5/6 − 1/4, the common denominator is again 12, and 10/12 − 3/12 = 7/12.

Multiplying the two denominators always gives a common denominator, but not always the smallest one; 1/4 + 1/6 could use 24, though 12 is enough. Either route reaches the same simplified answer, and the key always shows the answer in lowest terms. A multiplication chart is useful here: the rows for 4 and 6 show their multiples, and the first number in both rows is the least common denominator. Pairs on these sheets never need a common denominator above 24, so a pair like fifths and sixths will not appear.

Simplifying, equivalents and comparing

To simplify 12/18, find the largest number that divides both, here 6, and divide: 2/3. Children who find only a smaller common factor, such as 2, get 6/9 and must go again; that is fine, as long as they keep going until nothing else divides both. Equivalent fractions run the other way: for 3/4 = ?/12, the denominator was multiplied by 3, so the numerator must be too, and the missing number is 9.

Compare sheets ask whether 3/5 is less than, greater than or equal to 2/3. Two good strategies: rename both with a common denominator (9/15 and 10/15), or compare to a benchmark such as one half. A frequent error is judging by the denominator alone and deciding that 1/8 is bigger than 1/4 because 8 is bigger than 4. Some problems really are equal, such as 2/4 and 3/6, so children cannot assume an answer is always < or >.

Fraction sheets by grade

In the US, third graders mostly work with fractions as pictures and on number lines, so these numeric sheets fit best from fourth grade, when the codes in the footer of US and Canadian sheets (those that open on Letter) begin. Equivalent fractions and simplifying show CCSS 4.NF.A.1, comparing shows CCSS 4.NF.A.2, and adding or subtracting with the same denominator shows CCSS 4.NF.B.3. Different denominators belong to fifth grade and show CCSS 5.NF.A.1. Simplify sheets keep CCSS 4.NF.A.1 even when they use 9, 15, 16, 18, 20 or 24, denominators beyond the grade 4 set in that standard, so treat those problems as a stretch.

In England, adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator usually starts in Year 3 and continues in Year 4, comparing and equivalents grow through Years 4 and 5, and different denominators are commonly a Year 5 and Year 6 topic. Australian schools tend to cover equivalence around Years 4 and 5 and adding fractions with related denominators in Years 5 and 6. Those are broad patterns; textbooks and schools differ in order.

For a fifth-grade class starting unlike denominators, a workable sequence is two days of equivalent fractions to rebuild the renaming skill, a day of same-denominator sums as a confidence check, then different denominators for addition before subtraction. Keep the compare sheet for the end of the week: it uses the same renaming idea in a new way and shows who has really understood it.

Marking with the key, and sheet length

Every answer in the key is in lowest terms, and anything greater than one is shown both ways, such as 11/6 = 1 5/6. Decide your policy before marking: if a child writes 6/8 and the key says 3/4, many teachers count the addition as correct but ask for the simplified form, so the child learns both steps matter. Whole-number results print simply as 1 or 2, and a subtraction that comes to nothing shows 0.

Fraction problems take longer than whole-number facts, so 10 to 15 problems is a full practice page and 15 is the starting setting. For a warm-up, six equivalent-fraction or compare problems are plenty. For a unit test, print one sheet of each type the class has learned, eight to ten problems each, rather than one long sheet. Remainders from division with remainders are a natural link back: 7 ÷ 2 = 3 R 1 is the same as 3 1/2. When children need to see fractions as lengths, sketching bars on squared graph paper makes the pieces easy to draw the same size.

Common Core State Standards: © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.