ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on comparing and ordering positive fractions: fractions written with a numerator and a denominator that are both positive. However, students should also be able to compare a positive fraction with a negative fraction when any positive fraction is greater than any negative fraction and to compare and order negative fractions. The chapter examines two fractions are equal to each other or one fraction less than or greater than the other by determining the relative magnitude of the two fractions. Students gain an understanding of the relative magnitude of unit fractions when they interact with manipulatives and draw visual models to solve problems that involve comparing unit fractions. The development and use of unit fraction understanding play a prominent role in the development of fraction concepts in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM).
