Obviously, you could cut each loaf into 7 equal parts and give 4 pieces to each person. This is not really very satisfactory. Who would want 4 small slivers of bread? There is another way, which gives each person one decent sized piece plus a small piece.

I got this problem from the book Count Like an Egyptian, which I highly recommend and which is probably available at your local library. The book describes the way the ancient Egyptians did arithmetic, which is much different from the way we do it. For example, the Egyptians were able to multiply and divide without memorizing multiplication tables. This problem relates to the way they handled fractions. The book only requires knowledge of arithmetic. It should be accessible to middle schoolers.

Topics: recreation, history, Egypt, mathematics, arithmetic