Take three hands-up answers, not open call-outs. Don't settle the argument yet — the whole lesson is about proving the two amounts are equal. Give five seconds of quiet think-time before any hands go up.

Halves strip: one of two equal parts shaded, that is one half. Read it aloud together.

Quarters strip below: four equal parts, two shaded. Trace a finger along both shaded ends, they stop in the same place, so 1/2 = 2/4. This is the central idea today.

Name the word equivalent clearly, and keep using it.

Eighths strip: eight parts, four shaded. Ask first, will four eighths reach the same place as one half or go further? Pause before revealing.

Then show it lands in the same place: 1/2, 2/4 and 4/8 all cover the same length.

This round is for talking one match through together — a few pupils take turns shading the quarters strip on the board and the class agrees or corrects out loud.

Keep the halves strip shaded to one half so pupils always have the amount to match against. As each pupil shades the quarters strip, ask the class does it stop in the same place as the half? before you accept it. Watch for pupils who count the segments right but stop one segment short or long — reset and count together from the left edge. Revoice a strong answer: so two quarters names the very same amount as one half. The eighths and tenths matches come next in the Class Challenge, so keep this beat to the single quarters match.

These are the practice questions — pupils take turns at the board, check each answer, and the class confirms before moving on. Keep the board work brisk rather than over-explaining.

The first three matches all lean on the halves strip, so they build confidence. The fourth is the key one: there is no half shown, so pupils must line up two quarters against four eighths directly and see they still match. Ask before that one: can two fractions be equal even when neither is a half?