Fraction Action

by Loreen Leedy

Animal students explore fraction problems and answers.

Genres: Mathematics, Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction, 1st Grade, Animals

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Loreen Leedy is the author and illustrator of over 40 picture books with math, science, language arts, and other curriculum content. Her books showcase information in a kid-friendly format, often with characters and entertaining stories.

Honors and awards for her books include: ALA Notable Book, Science Books and Films finalist, Reading Rainbow feature book, Chicago Library Best of the Best, many Scholastic Book Fair selections, Florida Book Award, Parent's Choice Award, many Junior Library Guild selections, and Outstanding Science Trade Book by the National Science Teachers Association.

Loreen has spoken at hundreds of schools and many conferences such as the International Reading Association, the American Library Association, the Mazza Summer Conference, and the UVU Engaged Reading Forum.

She lives in central Florida with her husband Andy, who is a scientist and a cat named Knickers who has an easily triggered purrometer. They love to travel, read, and watch movies.

Reviews

[Shari · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved this book about fractions! Had lots of fun acting out characters and their fraction problems. Great "living" math book.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely LOVED it! I will definitely make use of this next year when introduction fractions to my second graders. The story is made up of blurbs which assist lower level readers. The “teacher” in the story teaches her student s about halves, thirds, fourths, and fifths. The teacher uses an overhead, and I would have my students to draw the fractions on their own paper during reading. I would read the story aloud and challenge my students to think of and/or illustrate real-life examples (as illustrated in the book) of examples of fractions. At the end when the students have to test the teacher, I would have my students to create their own fraction problems to be complied on a test, or even have a game of teacher vs. students. (2-5)

[Joanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teaching fractions can be a difficult concept for some students to grasp and this book is a great visual resource to have when introducing fractions to your students. The book has some wonderful examples of fractions and it's simplified for students to follow. Although its a nice book to read prior to a lesson, it is a bit lengthy so I probably wouldn't read it entirely aloud but I will have it for students to use during math centers. They can use the book to extend their understanding and come up with new example of things that can be split into fractions.

[Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutel great book to teach primary grades 1st-3rd fractions. You definitely want to buy this book.
. Six Small Chapters
. Visually appealing to children the picture are simple and are consistent with the numerical representations.
. Ask children to use their imagination.
. Comes with age appropriate questions and answers in the back (sshhh)!

[Kasmarine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Prime and her animal students learn, explore, and discover fraction by looking for many examples in their daily life experiences and the world around them. This book gives teacher tips to teach fraction. The text makes it fun for children to learn and understand fractions by using colorful illustrations and short narrative stories for problem solving.

[Emily Gerstenschlager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read6/2/21
Genre: Fiction
Grade Level: 2-4
I think this is a great book to use when teaching fractions. The book is full of problems that the students can do along while reading the book. I like how the book progresses from simple introductory problems to more complex problems involving money and real-life scenarios. I think you could use this book throughout a fraction unit since it is separated into sections that progressively get harder.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 2 out of 5]

The math is good, but if someone doesn't already understand the concepts, I don't think you should do more than a 2 page spread a day.

There's no story line. It looks a lot like colorful worksheets, but without any problems for you to do yourself.

[Vo Khon · Rating 4 out of 5]

FRACTION - REAL LIFE EXAMPLE
BEAUTIFUL DRAWING
This book is fun.
With each fraction have some real example to understand.
Some comedy story to understand fraction.
This book also shows how to call these fraction:
Ex: one third for a petal in 3 petal flower.

[Ashlyn Ewert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this is a great book for teaching fractions. It includes questions that children can answer and check their answer using the answer key in the back of the book. I liked how this book was split into sections so that you could read them when you are learning that specific section.

[Eliza Wilds · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my most beloved children’s books. I remember reading it well before I learned about fractions and reading the pages over and over and over. I absolutely adored the illustrations of Miss Prime and her five smart, silly, and creative students.

[Mary T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay as a basic introduction but not probably something I'd read to my fifth graders.

[Vera-Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 Stars

Being a Montessori teacher is going to have me reading a ton of children's books. I will say that this was a great beginner book for learning fractions.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, entertaining introduction to fractions. It is not boring, but fun.

[Anna Nipert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to use when introducing fractions to children. The book offers great visuals to show fractions in real world problems.

[Kalisha Mohammed · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this book aloud to my students, I will tell my students that they are going to become fraction experts by identifying fractions. I will give each student some Play-doh. The students will work with Play-doh on wax paper. Each student will seperate their Play-doh into three equal parts and form rectangles out of each part. Students will use their popsicle stick to cut one of their rectangles into two equal sized parts. I will point out to the students that there may be more than one way to do so. I will walk around and monitor the students and invite them to go to the whiteboard and draw a picture of how they separated their rectangles. I will use one of the ideas that the students have presented to demonstrate how to write "1/2" on the board. I will explain the meaning of the denominator and the numerator to the students. I will have the students use a toothpick to the write the fraction on each half of the square. I will have the students repeat this activity by introducing "1/3" and "1/4" with the remaining two rectangles.

[Olivia Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these books. It helps make lessons through the literature. It is done in a humorous and classroom setting. I feel that the students can relate to the book since it is about learning in a classroom just like them.
Since this book has 5 different chapters about fractions, I would do a lesson on each chapter. I would read the story and have a related activity for the students to do. The book includes topics: basic fractions (halves, thirds, etc), cutting objects in equal parts (sandwiches), fractions of a set, dividing things equally, tally marks, adding fractions, comparing fractions,and money. These are all important concepts that students must know.

After doing these activities, I would have the students make a fraction book where they describe what fractions they made and illustrate them. They would have their experience and a self-made book to reflect on the major aspects of fractions.

[Stephanie Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miss Prime teaches her class of five students about fractions and how to divide objects, such as food, into fractions. A few of her students then apply what they have learned to making lunch for their friends and selling lemonade. The students are then able to give Miss Prime a “test” at the end to show her what they have learned.
I think this book is the very best book I have read about math because it explains fractions by using objects that students relate too. It uses food or shapes to show the different portions and compare which fractions are the largest. This allows the reader to learn visually and be entertained by the bright illustrations and fun animal characters. Also, after teaching about the functions of fractions, this book gives some scenarios where fractions are used in children's daily life which is always important when teaching a student a new concept.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This very busy book on fractions is a great supplement to any fraction unit in the classroom. It is broken down into horizontal portions wherein a certain fraction or "activity" from Ms. Prime's classroom is presented. I often segment this book in to many different read aloud portions to discuss the happenings on the page. It is a great independent look through for the students so they can see how Ms. Prime's classroom works through fractions, equal parts, dividing sets and segmenting shapes. As a whole, it is a lot to present for one read aloud setting, but I would recommend having it on hand to show other examples of fraction concepts.

[Julia B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of different activities for centers. The beginning of the book serves as an excellent introduction to fractions, which would serve well as a Read Aloud. The book gets a little lengthy, however, which is why I'd use it for centers. My students can practice splitting one whole into fractions, as well as dividing groups into sets (1 pizza out of 3 pizzas is 1/3 of the set). We could use unifix cubes or slightly more "unconventional" manipulatives as well. My students would also be able to tie in art by drawing out and illustrating the different fraction sets they create.

[Whitney Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great book to read to upper elementary school students during math.
This book shows really good examples for students to understand the use of fractions and ways of solving fractions.
Can be a read along where students actually listen then can help write or show teacher ways of solving fractions.
Teacher could have students draw pictures like in the book to express content knowledge on understanding fractions.
Ex: Draw a square and section off 4 squares within the square. Fraction = 2/4 = 1/2.

FRACTIONS

[Samantha Fate]

This is a cute book about students in the classroom learning about fractions. It is a fun book that does not make you feel like you are learning math but just reading a fun book. The book shows a classroom using real world problems and events to learn and use fractions so it is great for students to relate to some of the things that the students are doing in the book and deal with fractions with food, money, and other things. Overall great book for young students to read and get a simple concept and introduction to fractions.

[Misty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for explaining the beginnings of learning fractions. The book is set up in a conversation format between the teacher and her students. The teacher explains and draws the different fractions and the students give real life examples of the fractions. Also throughout the book there are questions posed for the readers and the answers are in the back of the book. This book is awesome for modeling how to think about fractions!

[Chelsea Ulrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that could be used with fractions and can help students think of the different ways that they could divide wholes into equal parts. I could see using this book with second or third graders and allowing them the opportunity to think of different common objects that could be fractions. I could also see allowing students the opportunity to manipulate fraction strips or rods as they learn about the different fractions that are presented in the book.

[Lucero Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughout the book, the students explore and work with fractions. This book is handy when introducing and exploring fractions. The book has a lot of great terms like parts, halves, whole, etc. It would be nice to accompany this lesson with a pizza, cake or pie in which the students can get a visual and tasty aid of what fractions can relate to and how they can come in handy when wanting to estimate the pieces for a party or group of friends.

[Aaron Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be excellent to teach first and second grade students the basics about fractions. It presents them with fun and colorful animals that will engage the students interests. There are many different activities that you could use in this book. For example, you could give the students groups of animals and ask them which fraction of the whole are a certain color or have a certain feature that the others do not.

[Christina Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will be great to use in an introductory lesson about fractions. I love the way the books is divided into five parts and presents a new way to think about fractions each day. Miss Prime, the teacher in the book has students visualize dividing objects into halves, thirds, and fourths. She then teaches them how to divide through storytelling and sharing. I think this is a wonderful book. It's very entertaining and educational.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers a basic review on several different math concepts that is appropriate for children ages 6-9. There really isn't much of a story, but the way in which the material is presented is entertaining and simple enough to give even young children a confidence boost. The illustrations are colorful and cartoonish and really help to convey the material. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to use when introducing fractions. Illustrates how fractions can look different. Would open up discussion with students on having them describe fractions they see (half a sandwich). Not just fractions of a whole item, but fractions of a set. Drawings could help in illustrating dividing fractions.

6th Grade Common Core Standards: The Number System
- 6.NS.1

*Available at Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Libraries*

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book to introduce fraction for first and second graders. I want to use this book for read aloud and after the reading, I will ask my students to discuss about how fractions are connected to our real world. I like the way the fraction story extended to money and tally marks. It is a great math book.

[Yadira · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be good for a read aloud and the teacher could use a white board to draw the fractions as she reads. It makes connections between fractions and items/objects in student's lives. I find that some of the pictures on the pages can be somewhat chaotic so I would use it more as a "listen while I read aloud" book and use the board for visuals.