Fractions as Division

How the lesson starts: Fractions as Division

Nora's picnic
Nora packed 3 sandwiches for a picnic, but 4 friends showed up. Uh oh! You can't give each friend a whole sandwich. So how much does each friend get? Let's find out!
Cut and share
Cut each sandwich into 4 equal pieces, one for each friend. Ana gets 1/4 from sandwich one, 1/4 from sandwich two, and 1/4 from sandwich three. Together: 3/4 of a sandwich! So 3 ÷ 4 = 3/4. The fraction bar means divide!
More than one each
Nora baked 7 muffins for 3 friends. First hand out whole muffins: 2 each uses 6. One muffin is left, so cut it into thirds. Each friend gets 2 1/3 muffins. So 7 ÷ 3 = 7/3 = 2 1/3. Watch out: what's shared goes on top!