3 Act Task Fractions Lesson to Super Charge Your Math

Have you tried using 3 act task fractions lessons in your math instruction yet? If not, read on because you’re missing out on an amazing learning tool that will transform math for your students!

Teaching fractions at the elementary level usually starts with helping students recognize that a whole can be divided into equal parts. Then they learn how to name those parts by writing a fraction with a numerator and denominator. 

Teaching fractions in 3rd grade mostly focuses on recognition and involves minimal problem solving. But by the time they get to 5th grade, students are expected to manipulate fractions and use them to solve real-world problems. It’s a big jump to make in just a couple of years and many kids struggle.

So how can you help your learners understand fractions in a deep and meaningful way? One of the most effective (and FUN) ways to teach fractions is to incorporate three-act tasks into your math lessons.

In this blog post, I will share some ideas for 3 act task fractions activities plus a free 3 act task recording sheet that you can use with any math topic. But first, let’s look at what these tasks consist of and why you should use them.

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What is a 3-Act Math Task?

A three-act task is a type of inquiry based learning first developed by Dan Meyer. It is a specific problem-solving process with three parts designed to build critical thinking in math.

The parts consist of:

• Act 1: Students are shown a photo or short video that presents an interesting and perplexing situation. This “hook” causes them to ponder and wonder about the situation and create a list of questions. As a group, students come up with an open response question that can be answered mathematically.
• Act 2: In the next step, students try to solve their focus question through an information and solution-seeking session. They determine if they have enough information to answer the question and if not, decide what other new information would help them (which the teacher then provides).
• Act 3: Students discuss different strategies and possible solutions. The teacher may guide them in comparing their ideas and help them confirm that their answer is correct.

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This procedure helps students explore math through real world problems and develop a range of strategies on their own through productive struggle. A distinct aspect of 3 act tasks is that they are driven by student voice and choice. They can be used in guided math groups or during whole group lessons or number talks.

There are many benefits of using 3-act tasks in math. This process:

• promotes student engagement
• builds conceptual understanding
• fosters collaboration and sharing of ideas
• develops a growth mindset
• encourages student ownership

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No matter what topic you are covering in math class or what grade level you teach, you can use 3 act tasks. The complexity of the problems depends entirely on what your students come up with.

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Fractions 3 Act Tasks

One of my favorite 3-act tasks for teaching fractions involves CHOCOLATE BARS and students love it too because who doesn’t love candy? This activity can be adapted for 3rd through 5th grade because the students themselves define the problem. Here’s how it works:

Here’s how it works:

Act 1

Ask students – What can you observe in this picture? What questions do you have about what you see?

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Possible responses:

• There are 4 candy bars.
• The candy bars are broken.
• Each candy bar has 3 pieces broken off.
• Each candy bar has 6 pieces that are not broken.
• What fraction of the candy is broken?
• What fraction of the candy is whole?
• If our class shares the candy, what fraction of a candy bar would we each get?

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Act 2

Students decide on a focus question and seek additional information if needed. When I did this activity with 4th graders, they wanted to know:

• Is this a picture of 4 candy bars or 1 candy bar that’s broken into 4 sections?

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Hmm, that’s a very interesting idea.

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Act 3

Students discuss strategies and possible solutions with each other. My 4th graders eventually agreed that:

• 3/9 of each candy bar was broken if there were four bars.
• 12/36 was broken if the picture was really showing one bar.

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Then someone noticed that 1/3 of each bar was broken. This led to the discovery (all on their own) that 3/9 and 12/36 and 1/3 are all equivalent fractions. AMAZING!

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Since I teach math intervention, I adapted the same fractions 3 act tasks for my other groups.

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Fractions 3 Act Tasks in 5th Grade

I showed my fifth graders the same candy bar picture. Through their discussion, they figured out that 3/9 x 4 = 12/9 which is the same as 9/9 + 3/9. This led them to realize that the broken pieces are equal to 1 whole candy bar plus 1/3 candy bar. It also helped reinforce the concept that fractions can represent whole numbers.

At the end of our small group time, we had a little celebration and enjoyed some chocolate as a reward for their hard work! (Check out these other great Classroom Reward Ideas.)

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Fractions 3 Act Tasks in 3rd Grade

Next, I went to third grade where my math groups were learning to identify and name simple fractions. I showed them a different picture:

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Their fractions 3 act task went like this:

Act 1

These are kids’ feet. They are all wearing different kinds of shoes. They look like shoes we wear. The shoes are different colors. Some shoes have laces and some don’t. Some look like girls’ shoes and some look like boys’ shoes. What kind of shoes are we wearing? Do all of our shoes have laces? If only some of our shoes have laces, that’s a fraction.

Act 2

The students in this group decided they wanted to know what fraction of them were wearing shoes with laces. They made a list of questions that would help them arrive at a solution:

• How many people are in our group?  8
• How many shoes do we have in all?  16
• What kinds of shoes are we wearing?  tennis shoes, sandals, and boots

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Act 3

The kids decided to take their shoes off (after recess on a warm fall day, eww) and sort them into piles. Then they collected data:

Their data showed that 5/8 of the students in our group had shoes with laces. During their discussion, someone pointed out that 10/16 of the shoes had laces. Although they didn’t realize that these two fractions are equivalent, it was a good observation. So, I pointed out that the fractions were different but the shoes had not changed. 

Finally, several of the kids noted that more of them had laced shoes than not, so 5/8 must be bigger than 3/8. And we hadn’t even started learning to compare fractions!!

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Get Started with 3 Act Math Tasks

Using 3 act tasks in the math classroom is a highly engaging way to get your students to explore mathematical questions and take charge of their own learning.

If you want to add more activities like these fractions 3 act tasks to your lesson plans, a good starting point is this list of tasks from Graham Fletcher: GFletchy 3 Act Task File Cabinet. You can also subscribe to Fletchy’s newsletter to get new ideas.  Or head directly to Dan Meyer’s Three Act Math list with tasks for a range of grades.

You might also want to check out Kendra Lomax’s tasks if you teach primary grades, or the YouTube channel of Kyle Pearce if you teach intermediate grades.

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3 Act Task Recording Sheet

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No matter what math standard you’re teaching, giving students a framework for their 3 act tasks is immensely helpful. This printable recording sheet will guide your students as they work through each step of the process.

You can download a FREE copy of my recording sheet from the Free Resource Library!

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Need more ideas and materials for teaching fractions in third or fourth grade? Check out these resources from our shop: