Connections: Building understanding of fractions with LEGO bricks

In this article by Heather T. Gould, she describes how she goes about using LEGO bricks to teach fractions. She recommends beginning by introducing key vocabulary for describing the parts and dimensions of the bricks, a practice that helps students develope the precision aspect of theirmathematical practice. The connector(s) on the top of the bricks she calls studs. The dimensions of the studs are expressed length x width. A brick with three studs in a single row would be described as 1x3. A brick with the dimensions 2x6 would be considered the whole. Students then had to describe the size of a series of six bricks by means of a fraction of that whole. The instructor then repeated the process, only this time changing the definition of a whole to be a brick with the dimensions 2x3. When she did this, students shared a few common misconceptions. For one, students wanted to name bricks using the number of studs as the denominator. For another, students had a hard time understanding why the fraction name changed when the whole changed. Students spent time building a 2x6 blocks and 2x3 blocks using different combinations of bricks and expressing them as fractions. This allowed them to explore the concept of equivalent fractions. They also had the opportunity to explore simplifying fractions by building different sized bricks with as few bricks as possible.


This lesson promotes conceptual understanding through the use of manipulatives and encourages procedural fluency as students learn the usefulness and sensibility of simplified and equivalent fractions. Students' interest and understanding is bolstered by their past experiences with this common childhood toy. They are also learning to communicate mathematically with precision, using appropriate fraction terminology. 



Gould, H. T. (2011). Building understanding of fractions with LEGO bricks. Teaching Children Mathematics 17(8), 498-503.


National Governors Association (2010). Common Core State Standards Initiative – Mathematics

Standards. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/