Draw the fraction bars
Before adding 1/2 + 1/3, have kids draw both as bars of the same length. They will see the pieces are different sizes and can't be counted together. Cutting both bars into sixths shows why we need a common denominator.
Why it works: pairing a picture with each word gives kids two ways to remember it, a well-tested principle of how people learn (Mayer, 2009).
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