Equal parts first
Children learn fractions as equal shares of one whole. Circles and bars show the same idea two ways, so the fraction is not tied to one shape.Irish curriculum links
- InfantsStage 1: children become aware of part-whole relationships using area, length and set models, such as halving a shape, a strip or a group.
- 1st–2nd ClassStage 2: children recognise and name fractions by their part-whole relationship, and explore equivalence with simple fractions.
- 3rd–4th ClassStage 3: children compare, order and find equivalent fractions, and work out a fraction of a quantity.
Fractions now start earlier in Ireland than under the 1999 curriculum, which began them in 1st Class. The 2023 curriculum gives Junior and Senior Infants a learning outcome on parts and wholes, built through models like shapes, strips and sets of objects before any written fraction.
The circles and bars here are area and length models, two of the three the curriculum names. For the third, sets, share a group of counters into equal parts before or after the sheet.
Summarised in our own words from the Primary Mathematics Curriculum (2023), the NCCA Mathematics Toolkit and the Primary School Mathematics Curriculum (1999).
