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Simplifying Fractions Worksheet and Template: Singapore Math 4A

This document provides a 6-step process for simplifying fractions presented as a flip chart or single-page worksheet. The steps guide students to analyze the numerator and denominator to determine the greatest common factor and whether the fraction can be reduced. When the student first started using the process, they would consult each step for every fraction, but after a few days of practice could look at a fraction and immediately identify which step to apply to simplify it. The resource is intended to break down the thinking process into clear questions to make simplifying fractions easier for students.

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rgibson26
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152 views

Simplifying Fractions Worksheet and Template: Singapore Math 4A

This document provides a 6-step process for simplifying fractions presented as a flip chart or single-page worksheet. The steps guide students to analyze the numerator and denominator to determine the greatest common factor and whether the fraction can be reduced. When the student first started using the process, they would consult each step for every fraction, but after a few days of practice could look at a fraction and immediately identify which step to apply to simplify it. The resource is intended to break down the thinking process into clear questions to make simplifying fractions easier for students.

Uploaded by

rgibson26
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Simplifying Fractions Worksheet and

Template
October 27, 2014 9 Comments
I’ve dubbed this school year “The Year of Fractions” for my daughter. She’s currently
in Singapore Math 4A and she’s been working with fractions almost since the beginning
of school. She’s been adding and subtracting them, writing them as mixed numbers,
changing improper fractions to mixed numbers, and simplifying them to boot.

When it came to simplifying fractions, I was a bit worried. You really have to analyze
the numbers in the numerator and denominator to decide if the fraction can be reduced
any further and sometimes that’s a hard concept for kids. I thought it would be helpful to
have a guide for her to use at the beginning. I created this flip chart that we put in her
math notebook that walked her through six questions to consider when she’s asked to
simplify a fraction.
1. If the numerator of the fraction is one, it cannot be simplified any further. This is
because the only factor of one is one, so if you divide the numerator and denominator
by one, you will have the exact same fraction you started with.
2. If the numerator is one less than the denominator, the only factor they will have in
common is one. So, again, if you divide the numerator and denominator both by one,
you will have the original fraction.
3. If the denominator can be evenly divided by the numerator, the number in the
numerator is a common factor of both. Dividing by the numerator will result in a fraction
with a numerator of one, and the reduced fraction will be in simplest form.
4. If the numerator is half the amount of the denominator, then the fraction is essentially
one half.
5. All even numbers are divisible by two. If after reducing the fractions there are still
even numbers in both the numerator and denominator, keep dividing both by two until
you cannot evenly divide by two anymore. For example, in the fraction 12/20, if you
divide both numbers by two, the remaining fraction is 6/10. 6/10 is not in simplest form
because 6 and 10 are still both even numbers. Divide both 6 and 10 by two again to
find the simplest form is 3/5.
6. Dividing the numerator and denominator by their greatest common factor will reduce
the fraction to its simplest form. If both the numerator and denominator have no
common factors other than one, then the fraction is already in simplest form.

When we first began simplifying fractions, we would flip through this chart and ask each
question of every fraction. These questions helped walk her through analyzing the
fraction to see what steps she needed to take in order to simplify it. After a couple of
days of practice, she could look at a fraction, immediately identify which question it
answered, and simplify it. I was amazed at how just breaking down the thinking process
into questions turned simplifying fractions into a breeze!

Since this little flip chart made our lives a little bit easier, I wanted to share it with
you! Glue it onto notebook paper or place it in an interactive math notebook. I also
compiled these 6 questions onto just one page to create this simplifying fractions
worksheet in case that’s more helpful for you than a flip chart. I hope these resources
help your students sail through simplifying fractions, too!

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