Best apps for learning about fractions
The apps reviewed are not produced or distributed by TheSchoolRun. All details were correct when we reviewed them, but please note that some apps can be very short-lived and may become unavailable to download. We are unable to guarantee that the app listings we provide are completely up-to-date at all times.
Best for gameplay
Slice Fractions, £3.99, Apple and Android
This award-winning problem-solving game will take your child through the first stages of learning about fractions. They have to clear a path through the game for their woolly mammoth by slicing through lava and ice, which they do by matching fractions with their equal.
In the first levels of the game, your child simply has to match up the shapes to make a whole – so, for instance, dropping two half-sized ice blocks onto a whole slab of lava. As they progress through the app, the challenges become more tricky, introducing numerator/denominator fractions, equivalent fractions (e.g. knowing that 2/6 is equal to 1/3) and adding and subtracting fractions.
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There are over 140 puzzles for your child to solve, collecting a range of funky hats for their mammoth along the way. The app is intended for children aged five to 12, and once your child has got the hang of it, they can progress to the more advanced version, Slice Fractions 2.
Best for competitive kids
Miner Birds: Fractions, £1.99, Apple and Android
In this brilliant games-based app, your child has to help their hungry chicken dig up worms by solving fractions problems, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and finding equivalents. The harder the question, the more worms they’ll accumulate.
Your child can play against another person or against the computer, with the first to dig up 20 worms the winner. There are also bonuses and setbacks to discover along the way – and once your child has collected their worms, there’s an entertaining animation showing their chicken chowing down.
A particular benefit of this app is that it allows you to set the difficulty level based on your child’s age, so you know they’re tackling the right sort of problems for their year group and stage.
Best for KS2 kids
Booop Bop: Bingo Fractions, £2.99, Apple
In Upper KS2, children are expected not just to recognise and be able to name fractions, but to manipulate them in maths problems. Booop Bop uses the popular game of Bingo to help kids get used to solving fractions challenges.
In each round, your child is given fractions problems to solve (for example, 2/10 + 1/10). They have to find the correct answer on the Bingo board and click on it; if they need help, they can click on the robot for a hint on how to tackle the problem. The aim is to get a complete line, and shout Bingo!
There are five different types of fractions game – addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and equality – enabling your child to start with the basics and progress to more challenging calculations, and they can collect new robots and unlock bonus games as they progress.
Best for repeated practice
Fractions +, 99p, Apple
This app is great for helping children achieve automaticity with recognising fractions: a sign that they’ve properly understood what they’ve been learning. It helps them get used to identifying wholes, halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, sixths, eighths and tenths.
The aim of the game is to explode tiles on a grid by lining up three or more matching fractions. Your child has to keep the game going as long as they can, challenging themselves to beat their previous high scores. Be warned: it’s somewhat addictive!
You can opt for your child to work through the games in order, locking the harder levels until they’re progressed through the easier ones, or let them choose from the entire range of games. They’ll also earn stars as they play, with the goal being to achieve three stars: the mark of automaticity.
Best for understanding fractions and decimals
Fractions & Decimals, 99p, Apple
A key skill for KS2 children to master is how to convert fractions to decimals. This app gives them opportunities to practise, along with problems that’ll test their general understanding of fractions.
There are various types of game, including ordering, where they have to put a selection of decimals and fractions into ascending or descending order, and multiple choice, where they must select the decimal that equals a given fraction.
The app also covers naming fractions, ordering fractions, ordering decimals, and equivalent fractions.
Best for rewarding progress
Squeebles Fractions, £1.99, Apple and Android
Kids often learn better – and are more enthusiastic – if they have incentives, and this app from the ever popular Squeebles family will have your child hooked on solving fractions problems and earning rewards.
Intended for children aged seven to 11, and covering fractions from halves to twelfths, the app has four different mini games for your child to get stuck into, including A Piece of Cake, where they have to drag different fractions of cakes to each Squeeble as they ask for them, and Super Sums, which involves answering 10 of the Maths Monster’s questions as quickly as possible.
By playing the games, your child earns cake ingredients (including curry sponge and sugared carrots) and gets to whip up their own culinary creation to enter into the Squeebles’ Cake Making Contest.
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