Fraction Concepts
Fractions in Grade 3 are a new type of number: they represent quantities that are not whole. A fraction names both how many parts and how large each part is. Three quarters means 3 parts, where each part is one quarter of the whole. The equal-parts requirement is still central, and now students meet fractions in three distinct models: region (part of a shape), set (part of a group), and linear (part of a number line). Each model reveals something different about what a fraction means.
Three fraction models
Region model: a circle divided into 4 equal parts, 3 shaded = 3/4. Set model: 6 counters, 4 red = 4/6 = 2/3 red. Linear model: a number line from 0 to 1, marked at 3/4. Each model shows the same fraction in a different context. Students who know only one model have an incomplete picture of fractions. The number line model is particularly important: it shows fractions as numbers that live between whole numbers.
Equal partitioning and symbolic notation
To write 3/4: divide the whole into 4 equal parts (denominator), shade 3 of them (numerator). The numerator counts; the denominator names the size of each part. A fraction with a larger denominator has smaller parts: 1/8 is smaller than 1/4 because the whole is divided into more pieces. This is the counter-intuitive truth of fractions that students must experience concretely before they accept it symbolically.
Cultural connections: medicine wheel, seasons, pole ratios
The medicine wheel is divided into 4 equal sections, each representing a direction or season: a natural context for quarters. The year divided into 4 seasons is the same partition. Totem pole proportions use ratios that are often fractional. The BC curriculum explicitly connects equal partitioning to these cultural contexts, grounding the mathematics in Indigenous knowledge and worldview.