18 Half

Formal Definition: One of two equal parts of a whole.

Example: my friend and I share a pizza equally, we get half each.

Here is a Half written as a fraction:

Kid-speak: To understand the concept of “half” in math, we need to know that “half” is when a whole thing is divided into two equal parts. Each part is called a half. It’s important that the two parts must be the same size; if they are different sizes, they cannot be called halves.

Kids sometimes get confused between “one half” and “one and a half” because they sound very similar. When an adult says, “half of one is one half,” kids might hear it as “half of one is one and a half.” So remember, “one half” means one part out of two equal parts, while “one and a half” means one whole plus one half.

For example, if you have one apple and cut it into two equal pieces, each piece is a half. But if you have one whole apple and another half apple, you have one and a half apples.

This video does a great job of explaining the concept of “half” to kids

Video 1. Understanding Halves and Fourths – 1st Grade Math (1.GA.3) by Boddle Learning of YouTube

Cool Fact: The plural form of “half” is “halves”.

Half of a circle is called a semicircle. Half of a semicircle is a quarter circle.

Half of an hour is equal to 30 minutes.

Half of a dozen is equal to 6.

Way to learn about half:

To help kids understand the concept of “half,” you can try some hands-on activities with everyday classroom items. Halving means dividing something into two equal parts. For example, you can use a piece of paper. Fold the paper in half to show that each part is one half of the whole sheet.

You can also use a classroom snack like a cracker or an avocado. Cut the avocado in half so each piece is the same size. Let the kids try cutting their own snacks into two equal parts to see how halves look.

Another fun activity is to cut a simple drawing of a shape, like a circle or square, into two equal parts. Explain that each part is one half of the shape. By doing these activities, kids can see that halves are always two parts that are the same size.

References:

Pierce, Rod. (8 Sep 2023). “Half Definition (Illustrated Mathematics Dictionary)”. Math Is Fun. Retrieved 23 Jul 2024 from http://www.mathsisfun.com/definitions/half.html

SplashLearn. Halves in Math – Definition, Fractions, Facts, Examples, FAQs. Retrieved from https://www.splashlearn.com/math-vocabulary/fractions/halves

Video 1.Boddle Learning. (2020, May 11). Understanding Halves and Fourths – 1st Grade Math (1.GA.3) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFJLxia1kGE

Attributions:

Figure1,2. BBC BITESIZE. Recognise and find a half. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zhdwxnb/articles/zgrrf82#zv9fcxs

Figure 3. “Half of avocado with seed on pink surface” by Laker is licensed under a CC-BY 2.0 license.

Figure 4. “Circle Division n/2” by treisaran is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.