Why this confuses children
In everyday language, “of” describes belonging or connection: “a piece of cake,” “the colour of the sky.” It doesn’t suggest multiplication. So when a maths problem says “1/4 of 20,” your child doesn’t instinctively think “multiply.” They might try to divide, or subtract, or just freeze.
The confusion deepens when problems use different phrasings:
“What is 2/5 of 30?” — 2/5 × 30 = 12. “Find 3/4 of one hour.” — 3/4 × 60 minutes = 45 minutes. “A shop gives 1/3 off on a ₹900 item. What is the discount?” — 1/3 × 900 = ₹300.
All three use “of” to mean multiplication. But a child who hasn’t been explicitly taught this rule tries to solve each problem differently, often guessing.
The simplest way to teach it
Use physical objects. Put 12 coins on a table.
“I want 1/3 of these coins.” Divide into 3 equal groups. Each group has 4 coins. So 1/3 of 12 = 4.
“I want 2/3 of these coins.” Same 3 groups. Take 2 groups — that’s 8 coins. So 2/3 of 12 = 8.
Now connect it to the maths: 2/3 × 12 = 8. Your child sees that “of” means “take that fraction’s share.”
Once this clicks with physical objects, move to numbers without objects. The mental model carries over.
The misconception that gets it half-right
Some children learn that “1/3 of 12 means divide 12 by 3,” which gives the right answer for unit fractions like 1/3 or 1/4 but breaks for non-unit fractions. “2/3 of 12” doesn’t mean “divide 12 by 2/3.”
Teaching “of equals multiply” works for all cases, not just the simple ones. It’s worth being precise from the start.
What you can do today
Give your child this problem: “A school has 40 students. 3/8 of them wear glasses. How many wear glasses?”
If they set up 3/8 × 40 = 15, they understand “of.” If they try to divide 40 by 8 and then by 3, or freeze, the “of equals multiply” connection needs building with physical examples first.
How GuruMode handles this
GuruMode’s fraction missions explicitly teach the “of equals multiply” translation through interactive visual problems. Your child sees a group of objects, takes a fraction’s share, and watches the multiplication happen in real time. When they misinterpret “of,” the app catches the specific error and routes to visual recovery.
Try the chapter as an interactive mission.
Let your child try a free fractions mission on GuruMode and see how visual practice makes “of” finally click. Visit gurumode.com and click ‘Try GuruMode’ to start. (http://gurumode.com)