Tool
Fraction strips and fraction circles
A printable fraction wall or a set of fraction circles, with the fractions you choose from wholes to twentieths, labelled as fractions, decimals or percents, or blank. Every whole is the same real size, so the pieces match when they are cut out and laid side by side. Colour or outlines to colour in, on A4 or US Letter.
1 page, 12 strips a page. Print at Actual size or 100%.
Pieces that really match
A fraction wall only teaches if the pieces line up: a printed sheet where a sixth is a millimetre too long tells a child that two sixths are more than a third. Here each piece is exactly 1/n of the whole, the whole is the length you set, and the page states it, so you can check the print with a printable ruler. The same fractions on a line are in the number line generator.
Keeps these settings in the link. Useful for moving from a phone to the computer with the printer on it.
Frequently asked questions
What are fraction strips?
Strips of paper the same length, each cut into equal pieces: one whole, two halves, three thirds and so on. Laid one above the other they make a fraction wall, where you can see at a glance that two quarters cover a half, or that a third is bigger than a quarter. Cut apart, the pieces can be laid against each other to compare and add fractions.
Are the pieces exactly the right size?
Yes. Every piece of a strip is drawn at exactly 1/n of the whole length, and every circle piece at exactly 1/n of the full turn, so pieces from different rows match: two sixths cover one third, three quarters cover six eighths. The whole is a real length — 20 cm or 8 in unless you change it — so print at Actual size or 100% and it measures true with a ruler.
Which fractions can I print?
Any set from wholes to twentieths: tick the denominators you want. The usual classroom set is halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, sixths, eighths, tenths and twelfths. Labels can be fractions (1/4), decimals (0.25), percents (25%) or left blank for children to write in.
How do I make a set for every pupil?
Set the number of copies: each strip or circle is printed that many times, filling as many pages as needed. Print on card if the pieces will be handled a lot, or untick Colour to print outlines for children to colour in themselves (one colour per denominator makes equal pieces easy to find).
Strips or circles?
Strips show size along a line, which leads straight to number lines and measuring; circles show a fraction as part of a turn, like slices of a pizza, which many children find easier at first. Circles are drawn from 12 o’clock clockwise, the way a clock is read.
Last updated