Whole app review: practice your fractions on the iPad or iPhone

Introduction

Whole is an iPhone and iPad game that will have your students practicing fractions, and enjoying learning this valuable math lesson. Easily deepen their understanding thanks to this fun game.

The best iPhone apps for learning Math 2021

Slide the Fractions

Whole requires you to slide the fractions of 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, and work to make a whole. When you touch and hold one fraction, it will light up which fractions you can add it to, but be careful that you don’t waste the fraction. There are few moves that you can make to complete your 7/8 and when that coveted 1/8 appears, it’s not often right where you need it. Be patient and work through your moves so that you can get that fraction added together.

The best iPad apps for math games

What I like about this game is that it teaches you some basic fraction addition. The app even mental math equivalent and reduced fraction calculations when sliding the fractions. That’s provided that you are paying attention to the math and not just matching the available highlighted options. Students will catch on to this quickly, but ideally you can encourage your students to do the mental math for strategy and more points rather than just playing through.

Match it Up

Whole is a bit of a matching game too. When you find two 1/2s you can slide them together and be done with it. It took me a minute to figure out that you have to slide side to side and up or down. You cannot do diagonal and you cannot move over other tiles. This of course further complicates that game, but it also makes it so that you have to think a little harder.

Best iphone and ipad apps

I really enjoy this game for teaching fractions, and will be giving it a try with my tutoring student next week. Any student who is struggling with fractions can benefit from this game. It is simplistic in design, but effective in practice. It reminds me of practicing with pizza slices back in grade school, except that you get to watch the meter fill in the app rather than the pizza grow to whole.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Free
• Easy to use once you get the sliding
• Watch the meters grow as you fill to a whole number
• Strategically add the fractions so that you can get more points

Cons

• No instructions on how to play

Final Thoughts

Whole is a great learning tool for the iPhone and iPad when it comes to fractions. All you have to do is build a whole number with the available 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, and others. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes quite addictive and I rather enjoyed playing it. It’s one of the few apps I got lost testing and had to stop to write the review. Overall, both educational and fun, and I’d recommend it to anyone who needs fraction practice.