We’ve been doing all kinds of math with LEGO®, and most recently it’s been fractions! Gresham (2nd grade) is new to fractions, and so we used LEGO® bricks to look at fractions from a variety of angles.
It’s really easy to build fractions with Legos. We built 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 by making towers with LEGO® bricks.
I also created a simple fractions “worksheet” for Gresham by using a base plate and 2×2 LEGO® bricks.
He went across the rows and wrote down the fraction of blue bricks for each group of LEGO®s.
Then we looked at fractions from a different angle. His math book (Making Math Meaningful – 2nd grade) has had several pages where he has to determine if a certain number can be broken into fourth, halves, etc. This skill assists with understanding fractions as well as number sense in general.
I made him another “worksheet” with a number of LEGO® bricks to make into a tower. Then, he had to figure out if it was possible to break that tower into fourths, thirds, halves etc.
The last thing we did was to explore different ways to show 1/2. The size of a half can change depending on how big the whole is! We talked about how 1/2 of $500 is a lot more than 1/2 of $10.
Be sure to check out the rest of the LEGO® Math Series:
- Multiplication with Legos – Candy store math problem (geometric model for multiplication
LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO® group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this site.
2 Comments
Renae Nov 14, 2014
Such great activities! My boys love LEGO. I'm sure they would enjoy learning fractions with their favorite toys. Thank you so much for taking the time to share what you've done. I'm including one photo and link to this post in a round up of fraction activities I'm putting together at http://everystarisdifferent.blogspot.com. I've also pinned this post to my Math Board!
Laura May 7, 2016
LOVE this! I have two 6 yo and a 5 yo. This is something they would TOTALLY get. It's also a really good idea starter for multiplication of fractions for the middle school years. Uh-oh my kiddos might get upset when I take their legos to school with me!! haha
Thank you!
PS there's a market for a lego math book!
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