Students will begin to lay the foundation for fractions in second grade. Students have experienced fractions in first grade through geometric shapes. Students should understand that the inverse relationship between the size of the fractional part and the number of equal parts in the whole when given the same size whole. The greater the number of parts, the smaller the size of the parts and the smaller the number of parts, the greater the size of the parts.
Second grade students do not use or write in fraction notation (a/b) as they use written words to describe the relationship of fractions. Students should also have a great understanding that each fractional part of an object is the same size in area and the same shape and that the orientation of the partitioned parts does not affect the size in area or shape of the parts.
