A short comparison check for 3rd grade fractions, focused entirely on Common Core 3.NF.3.d. Two fraction-strip pairs open the page (3/6 against 5/6, then 2/4 against 1/4), three same-numerator pairs follow, and the last section asks for written reasoning: Maya ate half a personal pizza while Leo ate half an extra-large, so did they eat the same amount? The answer key justifies every symbol and spells out why Maya is wrong.
3.NF.3.d
“Compare two fractions with the same numerator or the same denominator by reasoning about their size. Recognize that comparisons are valid only when the two fractions refer to the same whole. Record the results of comparisons with the symbols >, =, or <, and justify the conclusions, e.g., by using a visual fraction model.”
Every question on the page: same-denominator strips in Part 1, same-numerator pairs in Part 2, and the same-whole requirement tested by the two pizzas in question 6.
Two pairs of stacked strips of equal length carry the first comparisons. Students write >, <, or = for 3/6 ______ 5/6 and 2/4 ______ 1/4 by reading the shading.
After a callout about smaller denominators meaning larger parts, students compare 3/4 with 3/8, 2/6 with 2/3, and 4/8 with 4/4 without any pictures.
Question 6 pits Maya's half of a small pizza against Leo's half of an extra-large one. Question 7 asks students to prove 2/3 > 2/6 with words alone.
Exit assessment
Run it in the last ten minutes of a comparison lesson. Seven questions is enough to sort the class without eating the next morning's marking time.
Misconception hunt
Watch question 5 closely. Students who write 4/8 > 4/4 are counting pieces instead of sizing them, and the callout above tells you what to reteach.
Partner debate
Have pairs argue Maya's pizza claim before writing. The phrase they need, same size whole, is the exact wording 3.NF.3.d hinges on.
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