Adding fractions with the same bottom
Free practice for adding fractions with the same bottom. It loads instantly, there is nothing to sign up for, and it stops after eight questions.
What this skill is
Adding fractions is counting units. Three fifths plus one fifth is four fifths because you are counting fifths; the size of the piece does not change, which is why the bottom number does not either.
Three ways to teach it at home
- Say the unit out loud: three fifths plus one fifth is four fifths, because you are counting fifths.
- If they add the bottoms, go back to the number line and show that the pieces did not change size.
- Only introduce unlike denominators once equivalence is solid on the line.
Where this sits in the ladder
Comes after
Opens next
Questions people actually ask
What grade is "adding fractions with the same bottom"?
It sits in grade 4 in most sequences, and it is aligned to 4.NF.B.3. In Ladderbug it opens once counting unit fractions is solid — grade labels are a rough guide, and readiness is what actually matters.
Is this game free?
Yes. This page needs no account, no email and no card, and there are no advertisements. It saves progress in your own browser.
What mistakes should I watch for?
Adds tops and bottoms: 1/3 + 1/3 = 2/6. We probe for it deliberately by offering that exact wrong answer as a choice, and if a child picks it twice we go back to counting unit fractions rather than repeating the same question.
This is one rung of 82.
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