I am struggling to understand the principals of Fractions, anyone got any tips???

Think of cakes or pizzas.

1/6 is one of six slices.

The bottom number represents how many slices you cut the cake into. The top number is how many you will eat.

When adding/subtracting fractions it is important to slice the cake into smaller pieces so that you have the same number of pieces in each cake.

1/2 + 1/4 = 3/4

Cut the 1/2 cake again so you have

2/4 + 1/4 = 3/4 (2 quarters + 1 quarter = 3 quarters)

The top numbers are added, the bottom, which is only the size of the slices is not added.

When multiplying, multiply the top numbers together and then the bottom numbers together.

1/2 * 1/4 = 1/8 (1 * 1 = 1, 2 * 4 = 8) This makes logical sense if you say half of a quarter is an eighth.

I agree that the cake being divided up is the best way to teach fractions.

For fractions questions such as: 'there are 20 boys and 25 girls; what fraction is boys?', you can draw a circle, write 45 next to the circle, and shade in approximate fractions for the 20-piece and the 25-piece. Ask lots of questions as you go along, such as, 'what number is half-way on this circle?'. This makes the child think more about what they are doing, which aids understanding.

Then ask:
- how many children are there altogether?
- how many are boys?
- what fraction is boys?

The answers to the first two questions are prompts for the third question. The picture helps in the understanding, and without it the child will often give the incorrect answer of 20/25. If you follow the same routine every time, the child will become familiar with it as the way to tackle fractions questions.