Grab your chef hats because we will be using fractions of pizza to help your child understand fractions. Fractions…one of the most feared topics in maths. Do you want to just curl into a ball in the corner of the room when your child asks for help with their fractions homework? Don’t worry you are not alone. Fractions are a topic that a lot of my students struggle with. Parents often ask me, “How do I teach my child fractions when I don’t know how to do them myself?” Before your child can fully grasp fractions, they need to go back to the basics. You can’t build a house without a solid foundation. Therefore, your child needs to have a solid knowledge of basic fractions before they can tackle the trickier stuff. So grab your chef hats, some pizza dough and your favourite toppings and let’s get started!
What are fractions?
Before I tell you how to use pizza fractions as a learning tool, let’s break fractions down one slice at a time. A fraction is a part of something whole. It is a way to split something whole into equal parts. It can be a whole number, a whole shape or a whole object. When dividing a number, shape or object into fractions, the parts must be equal. For example, if we are dividing a circle into sixths, it must be divided into six equal parts. Equal parts, this is super important when working with fractions.
We use the numerator and denominator to determine how many parts the number, shape or object will be divided into. Wait what? What on earth is a numerator and denominator? They may sound like sequels to The Godfather movies but it’s just a fancy mathematical way to say top number and bottom number of a fraction.
The Denominator
The denominator is the bottom number of a fraction, the number below the line. It tells us how many parts we are going to divide a number, shape or object into. Remember, all parts have to be equal. So if the denominator is 9, this means the number, shape or object must be in nine equal parts.
The Numerator
The numerator is the top number of a fraction, the number above the line. It tells us how many parts we have out of a whole. For example, if we are working with fractions of a pizza and we have ¾ of the pizza left. The denominator tells us the pizza has been divided into 4 slices and the numerator tells us that we have 3 slices left.
Why should I teach my child fractions using pizza?
Food is an excellent way to introduce and reinforce fractions. Food is a great visual tool and practical activity to teach your child fractions. Completing a real-life activity before completing physical worksheets will allow your child to have a visual representation of fractions in their mind. I don’t know about you but when I think back to my primary school days, I can remember the fun activities we did, not what worksheets I completed.
Pizza is a great way to teach fractions because it is a circle shape and can be easily sliced. Also, you will get to enjoy some yummy treats together afterwards! If your child does not like pizza, you can use other foods. I recommend starting with foods that are circular in shape, such as cake, pancakes, crackers, biscuits, burgers or pie!
Fractions of Pizza: How to use pizza to teach fractions.
There are two ways to use pizza to teach fractions. The first is cutting the pizza into slices and the second is to add toppings to the pizza. For option 1, the pizza will need to be cooked prior to the activity and with option 2, you can cook the pizza after the toppings have been added.
Slice Slice Baby…
Once you have cooked your pizza, grab a pizza slicer. You can get these from any supermarket or home store. I recommend writing some fractions on sticky notes or pieces of paper. Show your child the written fraction and ask them to divide the pizza into that particular fraction. There are lots of fractions in pizza, however, I recommend starting with halves, quarters and then eighths, depending on how big the pizza is. Explain to your child that the denominator, the bottom number of the fraction, tells us how many slices we need to cut the pizza into.
Top it up…
The second way to teach fractions using pizza is by adding toppings. I recommend using three pizzas as this means you can work with halves, quarters and eighths. Here are some fraction pizza pictures to show the toppings I use, but you can choose whichever toppings you like. Will you have pineapple as one of your toppings…
Halves:
For my first pizza, I divided it into halves. I have half chicken and half pepperoni as my toppings.
Quarters:
For my second pizza, I have divided it into quarters. I have one-quarter chicken, one-quarter cheese, one-quarter spinach and one-quarter pepperoni as my toppings.
Eighths:
For my third pizza, I have divided it into eighths. I have four-eighths pepperoni, two-eighths chicken, one-eighth spinach and one-eighth cheese.
There is also a great Fraction of the Pizza Game which requires your child to add fractions of different toppings to the pizza.
Question Time
While you are completing this activity with your child, you can consolidate their learning further by asking them pizza-related questions.
- Let’s look at the bottom number of the fraction. How many parts do we need to divide the pizza into?
- How many slices of pizza do we have?
- Now let’s look at the top number of the fraction. How many parts do we need to put pepperoni on?
How do fractions of pizza link to my child’s schoolwork?
Completing a fun, practical activity like this to reinforce fractions to your child will allow them to relate fractions to real life. They will remember slicing the pizza themselves and adding their toppings to the pizza. Your child will become an active participant in their own learning rather than just staring at a notebook or watching a video. Completing an engaging activity like this before completing worksheets with your child, will allow them to make physical connections between the real-life pizzas and the worksheets. If your child starts to get flustered during their fractions homework, you can remind them of the fun pizza activity you did together. To further extend your child’s learning with this activity, you can use some fraction pizza printable worksheets which may help them relate the practical activity with the worksheet.
More Information on Pizza Fraction Activities
Celebrate Pi Day with This Awesome Pizza Math Activity
Is your child completing the transfer test? Have you been wondering how you will prepare them for the new SEAG Transfer Test? Then check out my blog post on 5 fantastic, simple ways to prepare your child for the SEAG Transfer Test!
I hope you have lots of fun completing this activity with your child! During activities like this, you are creating meaningful learning experiences with your child while also spending some quality time together, and making memories. If fractions is a topic that you would love more practice with, I will have more fraction-related blog posts coming your way! Don’t forget to share your fabulous fractions of pizza creations with me on Facebook and Instagram!
