Fractions Unlocked: How Teaching Fractions as Numbers Is the Key to Student Understanding

By DeAnn Huinker and Elizabeth Cutter-Lin

How can teachers help students overcome persistent struggles with fractions?

Fractions Unlocked, co-published with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, provides a research-based answer by shifting instruction away from traditional part-whole models toward a measurement-based approach grounded in unit fractions.

Fractions represent one of the most persistent challenges in mathematics education. Despite their critical importance as a foundation for algebra and advanced mathematics, many students struggle to develop a meaningful understanding of fraction concepts and operations. Fractions Unlocked offers teachers a transformative approach to instruction.

Drawing on decades of research and classroom experience, the authors show how understanding fractions as numbers with magnitude can transform student learning. This book provides a clear roadmap for instruction, prioritizing conceptual meaning over rote memorization to help students build a deep, connected understanding of how fractions work. This essential resource equips elementary and middle school teachers and coaches with instructional strategies and research-based activities to put these ideas into immediate practice.

Book Features:
Analysis of student work and "Spotlights on Student Thinking" to help teachers interpret and build on student strategies and explanations.In-depth development of the number line as a central tool for understanding fractions as numbers with magnitude.Purposeful use of representations (fraction strips, drawings, number lines, contextual situations, and symbolic notation) to make fraction concepts, relationships, and operations visible.Tools, tasks, and discussion prompts, along with instructional sequences, that support implementation of meaningful and connected fraction instruction.Teaching takeaways that synthesize the key ideas of each chapter.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807785105
• ISBN13: 9780807785102
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Teachers College Press
• Length: 224 Pages