A fraction as an equal share, and why one-ninth is less than one-fifth

What to assume they know

Whole-number order: which of two whole numbers is the larger
Sharing a set of objects equally between two or four people, from primary school
The words half and quarter used in everyday speech
Mathematics is the search for patterns *and* for why they hold: mathematics looks for the reason behind a pattern, not only the pattern

What they should be able to do

State what the number below the line in a fraction counts
Explain, in terms of sharing, why a larger number underneath gives a smaller share
Order two fractional units correctly on sight and justify the order
Recognise and name a fractional unit, and give the book's second name for it
Work out one person's share when several objects are split equally among several people, including cases where more than one object is being shared
Combine two unequal named parts of a kilogram into a single fraction
Connect a spoken fraction word in an Indian language to the fraction it names
Arrange spoken fraction words by size

Where it usually goes wrong

"Nine is bigger than five, so one-ninth is bigger than one-fifth." The chapter puts this mistake in a character's mouth on p.152 rather than warning against it in the abstract, and that is the right staging. Correct it by returning to people: nine children round one roti each get less than five children round one roti.
"The number underneath counts pieces I have." It counts the pieces the whole was cut into — equivalently, the people sharing. The student who holds this confusion reads one-ninth as "nine pieces".
"A fraction is two numbers, so compare them like two numbers." A fraction is one number.
"A share is always one of the equal pieces." Four friends and three glasses breaks this: the share is three of the quarter-pieces, not one.
"The parts only count as equal if they are the same shape." Raised here and answered in §7.2; flag it in section 4 and hand it over rather than settling it.
"Fractions are a modern school topic." The Rig Veda word on p.153, and the household words the student is asked to collect, exist to break this.

Questions to check understanding

Given two fractional units, say which is larger and justify it by sharing
Fill in the share when a stated number of objects is split equally among a stated number of people
Add two named parts of one kilogram and give the total as a fraction
Put three to six fractions, or spoken fraction words, into size order
Give the fraction word used in a named Indian language for a stated fraction
Say what the number below the line counts, in one sentence
The solutions appendix bound with this chapter file answers the §7.1 Figure it Out questions on its own §7.1 page, which is the closest thing this section has to a marked scheme

Examples worth working on the board

The opening dialogue (chapter opening, pp.151–152). Two named speakers work through one roti split between two children, then the same roti split among four. The second share is written with a 4 underneath. The dialogue closes by comparing the two shares and settling which is larger. Checked against p.151: the page carries two drawn rotis — one halved, one quartered — each with arrows running down to the matching number of stick-figure children. Redraw this; do not lift it.
The §7.1 dialogue (§7.1, p.152). The pair to compare is one-fifth against one-ninth. One speaker guesses from the whole numbers that nine beats five; the other refuses the guess and reframes both as shares of one roti.
The hundred-and-two-hundred remark (§7.1, p.152). A speech bubble extends the same reasoning to one-hundredth against one two-hundredth. Checked against p.152; the bubble is drawn art, so redraw it rather than lifting it. The same page carries a second small green panel restating that one-half beats one-quarter, which closes the opening dialogue.
The list of fractional units (§7.1, p.152). The book prints a run beginning at one-half and running up through one-tenth, one-fiftieth and one-hundredth, with ellipses between. Use the run as evidence that the family is endless, not as a list to be memorised.
Figure it Out, four sharing questions (§7.1, pp.152–153). Inputs only: (a) three guavas of roughly equal size weigh 1 kg together; (b) 1 kg of rice goes into four packets of equal weight; (c) four friends share three glasses of sugarcane juice equally; (d) a big fish weighs one-half kg and a small one one-quarter kg, and the question asks their combined weight. Note that (c) is the first case in the chapter where more than one object is being shared, so the answer is several fractional units rather than one; that is the point of including it here. Nowhere in §7.1 do the objects outnumber the people, so no share here reaches a whole.
Knowledge from the past (§7.1, p.153). The Rig Veda names three-quarters tri-pada. The chapter connects it to Hindi teen paav and to Tamil mukkaal, and then asks the student to collect the fraction words used at home. Treat the collection task as a genuine section beat, not decoration — it is the chapter's own bridge to §7.9.
The ordering question (§7.1, p.153). Six spoken words are given, to be arranged smallest to largest: the words for one half, one quarter, three quarters, one and a half, one and a quarter, plus two and a half. The solutions appendix bound with this chapter records the order on its §7.1 page.

Figures to have open

A roti divided into two, and the same roti divided into four, drawn at equal outer diameter. Standard schematic; redraw rather than reproducing the printed art on p.151.
Five children round one roti beside nine children round one roti. This is the argument of the topic and must be a single side-by-side frame, not two frames in sequence.
A long strip that can be cut into a hundred and into two hundred, for section 6. Standard schematic. If a hundred divisions cannot be drawn legibly, show ten and twenty and say the reasoning is the same.
No table, photograph or data figure from the textbook is required.

Where this sits in the book

NCERT Ganita Prakash, Class 6, Chapter 7 "Fractions" — the chapter opening dialogue, pp.151–152
§7.1 "Fractional Units and Equal Shares", pp.152–153 — the one-fifth against one-ninth dialogue and the definition of a fractional unit (p.152); the Figure it Out questions, the "Knowledge from the past!" panel and the ordering question (pp.152–153)
§7.3, p.158, for the printed wording of numerator and denominator, which this topic uses informally before the book names them
Summary, p.186, for the printed one-line statements of fraction as equal share and fractional units
§7.9 "A Pinch of History", pp.182–183, which picks up the Rig Veda thread
Solutions appendix bound with this chapter file, §7.1 pages