Adding and subtracting mixed numbers
Add and subtract mixed numbers with like denominators, including by converting to improper fractions or using properties of operations
Share and support
Teaching Table
Set out your lesson
Add and subtract mixed numbers with like denominators, including exchanging a whole for fractional parts.
Ask for 1 2/5 as an improper fraction and 4/5 + 3/5 as a mixed number. If uncertain, use mt_o_p-3tCxiM or mt_VgOePicFYK first. This activity check is inferred, not a change to canonical edges. Source availability is not learner mastery.
Check learner readiness directly; prerequisite availability is not attainment.
Screen or supplied sheets, pencil and scrap paper are sufficient; no printer, cutting or purchase is required. Read Setup and Show first; use Together with help, then put worked pages, matching cards and adult keys aside for Try. All story quantities are fictional: no cooking, eating, cutting, buying or collection of personal data. Draw any needed counters; no small objects are required. Read text aloud or let the learner point, draw or explain orally. Adult scribing is supported mathematical work, not independent handwriting. Record any hints actually used; never invent a response.
Read the worked model aloud. Ask the learner to identify the whole and equal-part unit. In Together, let them attempt before offering the listed hint. Ask why a method preserves value. If the readiness skill is uncertain, pause and return to the named prerequisite; do not drill unsupported errors. Use fresh Try contexts without the key; after the attempt compare the method as well as the answer.
Record actual responses, access mode and assistance; never invent observations or infer mastery.
Use the complete materials on screen or print only the current sheet. Keep adult guidance out of learner view. Retain an earlier model only when the current step supplies it as context.
Teaching limits and safe use
These are finite task opportunities, not proof of mastery. Record what was attempted and what support was used.
These finite examples do not establish mastery, age suitability or teaching efficacy. Oral and scribed work can show mathematical reasoning but not independent handwriting. Canonical ages and clauses are preserved; actual readiness must be checked. In the two-batch example, 2/5 + 3/5 reaches exactly one whole, not more. The total is four cups. A different Try example uses 3/8 + 7/8 to practise exceeding one whole; the original wording is not treated as true.
Record actual responses, access mode and assistance; never invent observations or infer mastery.
Family records and proof options
Keep a record of your learning
Save photos, notes, and attendance. Export a proof packet for compliance or portfolio reviews.
Learning resources
Reviewed external links that reinforce this concept. They do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
No reviewed resources for this concept yet.
The teaching approach above still stands. Curated practice links will appear here as the shelf fills.
Check understanding
- Calculate 2 3/5 + 1 4/5 and express as a mixed number
- Subtract 3 1/4 from 5 3/4
- Solve 4 2/6 − 1 5/6 by regrouping the whole number
“If a recipe calls for 1 and 2/5 cups of oats and another batch needs 2 and 3/5 cups, can your child add them together to get the total — including converting when the fifths add up past a whole?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Procedural
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Domain
- Fractions
- Age range
- Ages 9–10