This is the simplest application of fractions. Divide the children into groups and give them a round food item, such as a pizza or a pie. Ask the children to come up with the best way to share the food between them equally. The children should split the pizza or pie into fractional parts, which can be done easily by counting the number of people in the group and splitting the food accordingly. For example, four children should split the pizza or pie into quarters. Explain that when you divide something equally between a number of people, you use fractions. Even if the division is unequal, fractions are still at the core. For example, if you have a group of three sharing a pizza made by one of them, the pizza could be split into quarters, with the chef getting an extra piece for his effort.
Tell the children that they are going to do some baking. Choose a recipe that is designed for more people than are going to be eating it. For example, if there are two people eating, choose a recipe for four people. Ask the children to use fractions to work out the correct amounts needed for two people. They should realize that with half of the recommended number of people, they need half of the listed amounts of the ingredients. When they have completed the process and the food is in the oven, ask them if they needed to understand fractions to complete the recipe. Explain that using fractions to halve or divide recipes in this way is common because many recipes are designed to feed a lot of people.
Choose a child who is wearing a watch and ask him the time. If you ask at quarter past, half past or quarter to the hour, you can use this as a steppingstone to show how fractions are important in telling time. Give the children a simple piece of printed music in 4/4 time and explain to them the differences between the various types of notes. Tell them that each measure will have four beats. You can even label the note names to make it easier. Ask them to work out how many beats each eighth, quarter, half and whole note will have. Explain that musical bars are divided into fractions, and musicians need to understand fractions in order to know how many beats to give each note.
Give the children a selection of coins of varying denominations. Ask them why they think a quarter is called a quarter. Show them that four quarters -- 4 x 25 -- equal one dollar, or 100 cents. Therefore, a quarter is a quarter of a dollar. You can ask them to do the same thing with a half dollar coin, using the fraction-inspired name of the coin to work out how many there are in a dollar. Help the children realize that people really do use fractions every day, even if it's just checking that they have been given the correct change.