The study explored students' interpretations of representations of fractions on number lines and the effect of instruction on those interpretations. Subjects were five fourth-graders, and instruction was a four-day unit on the use of number lines. A 16-item, multiple-choice pre- and posttest was used along with videotaped interviews. Performance improved except when students had to associate a reduced fraction symbol with an equivalent, unreduced fraction representation on a number line. The difficulty at ''unpartitioning'' a representation suggests that care needs to be given to developing a concept of equivalent fractions. Further, translations among various models of fraction might foster better performance.