What might a fraction be?
1. Part of a shape or shapes
The activity Halving is a good place to start exploring the relationship between the part and the whole. Children are invited to halve paper squares of a particular size in different ways. Each time, they are encouraged to explain how they know it is a half. This can lead into a discussion about the link with area - half of the square is not a particular shape but an amount of space. In his article Early Fraction Development, Bernard describes how he explored the general idea of half a rectangle with some children. Using different sized pieces of paper leads learners to conclude that the same fraction (one half in this case) can refer to different amounts of paper.