Classroom printables, activities & worksheets

Equivalent Fractions Teaching Resources

Everything you need for teaching equivalent fractions in your elementary math class has been brought together in one place by the Teach Starter team! Find printable equivalent fractions worksheets, math center activities, and more — all created by teachers for your elementary classroom! Each curriculum-aligned teaching resource in this collection has been rigorously reviewed by our teacher team to ensure it meets standards, has been fact- and spell-checked, and is ready to be downloaded and used in your classroom.

New to this section of the math curriculum or just haven't taught students to work with fractions in a while? Take a peek at this quick primer from our teacher team!

What Is an Equivalent Fraction?

Equivalent fractions are different fractions that represent the same value. They have different numerators and denominators, but they are equal in value. For example, 1/2 and 2/4 are equivalent fractions because they both represent the same value, which is 0.5. Equivalent fractions can be found by multiplying or dividing both the numerator and denominator by the same number.

How Do You Find Equivalent Fractions?

Looking for tips to teach students to find equivalent fractions? In addition to the various worksheets and activities in this collection, here are some tips from our math teachers!

Multiply or divide both the numerator and denominator by the same number. For example, to find an equivalent fraction of 2/4, you can multiply both the numerator and denominator by 2 to get 4/8.
Use the concept of a common denominator. To find an equivalent fraction with a common denominator, you can use the least common multiple (LCM) of the two denominators as the new denominator. Then, you can multiply both the numerator and denominator of one of the fractions by the same number to make them equivalent. For example, if you have the fractions 2/3 and 3/4 and you want to find an equivalent fraction with a common denominator of 12, you would multiply the numerator and denominator of 2/3 by 4 and the numerator and denominator of 3/4 by 3 to get 8/12 and 9/12, respectively.
Simplifying the fraction by dividing the numerator and denominator by their greatest common factor, so the fraction is in its most simplified form. This is also referred to as a fraction in the lowest terms.

In each case, you will get a fraction that represents the same value but has a different numerator and denominator.

How Do Equivalent Fractions Help Kids?

Are your students asking why they have to learn this portion of your math curriculum? It can be handy to have more reasons on hand than the age-old "because." There are immediate benefits to learning equivalent fractions as kids learn to simplify a fraction to make it easier to work with. Reducing a fraction to its lowest terms by dividing both the numerator and denominator by the same number can make it easier to compare fractions or add and subtract them. This will also make it easier for students to determine if one fraction is greater or less than another fraction. You can also remind students that there are real-world applications! In cooking, for example, knowing how to handle these fractions will serve them well when ingredients need to be scaled up or down based on the number of servings required. Understanding equivalent fractions can also be useful when it comes to creating and interpreting graphs and charts.