standard_description: Partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares, describe the shares using the words halves, fourths, and quarters, and use the phrases half of, fourth of, and quarter of. Describe the whole as two of, or four of the shares. Understand for these examples that decomposing into more equal shares creates smaller shares.
problem_activity: Stage 1: Any Way
Required Preparation
Materials to Gather
Collections of objects
Materials to Copy
Blackline Masters
Sort and Display Stage 1 Recording Sheet

Narrative
Students sort 10–20 objects into two or three categories and then show how they sorted. Provide students with a group of items that will be interesting for them to work with such as:
pattern blocks
connecting cubes
counters
combination of the blocks, cubes, and counters
sets of books
Students then show their representation to a partner and ask questions that can be answered about their collection of objects.
Additional Information
Create collections of 10–20 objects with up to three attributes by which to sort.


aligns: no