Fractions
Year 3 · Maths
Explore numbers, spot patterns and explain how you worked it out.
Choose a game
Take your time, try a game and collect stars.
Fractions on a number line
Place fractions like 3/4 and 2/5 on a number line from 0 to 1. Free Year 3 maths game.
Play Fractions on a number lineAdding and subtracting fractions
Add and subtract fractions with the same denominator within one whole. Free Year 3 maths game.
Play Adding and subtracting fractions
Learning about fractions
In this Year 3 maths collection, you can practise Fractions on a number line, Adding and subtracting fractions. Choose a game above for a short activity, or explore the examples below before you play. The full guide for each game explains its controls, gives more examples and includes a free printable for practice away from the screen.
Talk it through
Use counters, a drawing or a number line before moving to a mental method. Ask your child to explain a choice, then change one number and try the method again.
Ask: “How could you show the same answer another way?” Give your child time to explain. Return to an example after playing and ask whether they would approach it differently.
Fractions on a number line
In Year 3, pupils learn to recognise and use fractions as numbers: unit fractions such as ⅓ and non-unit fractions such as ⅗, with small denominators. Placing fractions on a number line is one of the clearest ways to see that a fraction is a number with a size, not only a part of a shape.
Try an example: Put ¾ on a line split into quarters.
There are 4 equal gaps. Count 3 from 0.
Show the answer
One step before 1
What to look out for
Counting tick marks instead of gaps. Colour each gap as you count it, or count jumps with a finger.
Adding and subtracting fractions
Year 3 pupils learn to add and subtract fractions with the same denominator within one whole, for example 5/7 + 1/7 = 6/7. When the denominators are the same, every part is the same size, so you just count how many parts you have.
Try an example: 2/9 + 5/9 = ?
2 ninths + 5 ninths = 7 ninths.
Show the answer
7/9
What to look out for
Adding the denominators: 2/7 + 3/7 = 5/14. Say the fractions in words: 'two sevenths plus three sevenths'. Sevenths stay sevenths, just like 2 apples + 3 apples is 5 apples, not 5 'double apples'.
Practise away from the screen
- Fold a paper strip into halves, then quarters, then eighths, and label the folds.
- Use a chocolate bar or pizza cut into equal pieces: 2 eighths eaten plus 3 eighths eaten is 5 eighths eaten.
Curriculum connections
These games support selected practice connected to Fractions in the National Curriculum in England. Use your school’s sequence to decide when to introduce and revisit each skill. A game covers selected examples, rather than assessing every requirement.
Questions families ask
Where should we start with fractions?
Start with Fractions on a number line. Look at the worked example together, then try a round. If the task feels unfamiliar, use the full game guide or its free printable before trying again.
Does this cover everything taught at this level?
No. This collection brings together the games currently available for this learning area. It supports selected skills and does not replace the full programme of study or practical teaching.