L8– WWW – Y1 Find a Quarter of a Quantity

Working Without Worksheets – Year 1 Fractions: Finding a Quarter of a Quantity Deepen children’s understanding of fractions with this Working Without Worksheets lesson for Year 1 Fractions, where pupils learn to find a quarter of a quantity by sharing into 4 equal groups. Instead of worksheets, pupils use counters, pots, and dice to explore quarters practically, before recording their reasoning directly in their maths books. The lesson begins with a recap starter, including: Solving a simple addition word problem Practising correct number formation Recognising which groups do or do not show quarters The starter game involves flashing up groups of counters, with pupils calling out “YES” if they show quarters and “NO” if they don’t—reinforcing that a quarter always means 4 equal groups. Teacher modelling then demonstrates how to share objects into 4 groups fairly, linking to real-life contexts such as pizzas being shared equally between 4 children. For the main activity, children use a 10-sided die, counters, and 4 pots: Roll the die and record the number in their maths book. Predict whether the number can be shared equally into quarters. Use counters and pots to test the prediction. Record their findings, writing a number sentence such as “One quarter of 8 is 2”. Mark ✔ or ✘ depending on whether their prediction was correct. The plenary encourages reasoning with the problem: “Tia has 6 teddies. Can she share them between 4 friends?”. Children test this themselves with counters, leading to the conclusion that some numbers cannot be split into quarters without unequal groups. What’s Included in the Pack? ✔ Full teacher planning with objectives, key vocabulary, and plenary guidance ✔ Starter recap: number bonds, word problem, and recognising quarters of groups ✔ Vocabulary focus: quarter, equal, unequal, part, whole, quantity, share ✔ Practical task: roll a die and share counters into 4 groups to find quarters ✔ Independent recording: write number sentences and p