This study presents a tentative framework for studying the learning of fractions in the context of transformations between different forms of representations. The framework is used in an empirical sample of how eight 10-year-old students express understanding of activities which were developed to challenge them to reflect on different ways of representing aspects of the concept of fractions. The framework is based on a social semiotic perspective of multimodality.

The analysis discloses how the framework helps in structuring our understanding of the interplay between representations in the learning of fractions. Specifically, we saw how concrete physical material and gestures complemented the symbolic and spoken language in the students’ solution strategies of different tasks.