Piece and Fragment

Piece

A piece is one small section or part of something bigger. Many things in life are made up of smaller pieces.
Ex: We threw a big party for Laura's fifth birthday. All her friends got a special prize and a piece of cake for coming to her party.
Ex: Jack was so excited about his first day of school that he left his rucksack at home. He had to borrow a pencil and a piece of paper from the student sitting next to him in class.
When you break or damage something until it falls apart, you break it into pieces. Something is broken into pieces when the parts are removed from the whole.
Ex: I learned not to let the children play ball in the house after they threw the football into the TV screen. It broke into pieces immediately and could not be fixed.
Ex: I love Mike, but he gets angry very easily. Last week, when someone called him a name he grabbed a pencil and broke it into pieces right in front of us.

Fragment

A fragment is a small part broken or separated from something larger, or a whole item. Therefore, the word fragment is a synonym for piece or bit.
Ex: It took us forever to find Laura's missing glasses. Finally, we saw a fragment of glass shining in the sun and found them underneath the chair on the terrace.
Ex: After the car accident, there were fragments of Cal's car all over the road. It took us hours to find all the separated parts.
When something is broken into fragments, it can be described as fragmented. This means it is damaged because it is no longer the full version of what it once was.
Ex: Jesse got a new DVD player for his birthday. It was very upsetting when the dog knocked it over and broke it into fragments on the living room floor.
Ex: While running on the trail, Sara tripped on a rock and dropped her phone on the ground. When she picked it up, it was broken into little plastic fragments.