Maths help for parents of children aged 5 to 11Welcome to MathsBlog, the number one primary maths site.
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Next week we have a new worksheet on using the subtraction sign, suitable for Year 1 children and, for those slightly older, a page on pairs of numbers that make 20. Knowing facts such as the pairs of numbers that make 20 are important for children to learn. We often go on about the importance of learning tables but these other facts are just as vital to give confidence with mental arithmetic.
We also have two pages on ordering decimal fractions for Year 5 and Year 6. The first looks at tenths and hundredths. A good test of children’s understanding of decimals is to ask them to write a number between two other decimal fractions. eg write a number between 0.9 and 1.
The year 6 decimal fraction worksheet takes a closer look at thousandths, which are important to understand in the context of measurement eg 1000 ml in a litre, or 1000 metres in a km.
This is the third in our series of maths worksheets on writing decimal fractions and fractions, most suited to Year 6 (10/11 years old). Children need a very good understanding of place value to succeed with this page. In earlier years they will have understood that the value of a digit become ten times bigger each time it moves one place to the left; from units to tens, to hundreds, to thousands and so on.
Moving a digit one place to the right makes its value ten times less, including going past the decimal point into tenths, hundredths and thousandths.
Watch out when writing a number such as sixteen thousandths that it is written 0.016 and not 0.0016.
Writng these numbers as fractions is quite straight forward. eg 16/1000.
Decimal fractions thousandths (pg 1)
Sometimes a simple question can reveal a great deal about how children deal with numbers. This maths worksheet on finding differences is full of such questions.
Let’s look at 3005 - 8 which is easier to do mentally than on paper.
There are several ways that this can be done.
1. Count down, one at a time, 8 from 3005, saying each number as you go. Fingers may be held up on each count down until 8 is reached.
3004, (1), 3003 (2), 3002 (3), 3001 (4), 3000 (5), 2999 (6), 2998 (7), 2997 (8)
2. A different way is to take the 8 from 3000, then add 5.
3000 - 8 = 2992
2992 + 5 = 2997
3. A third way is to take 5 off the 8 leaving 3.
Then take 3 off 3000 = 2997
It is well worth talking to children about how they do this kind of question and what strategies they employ. Much will depend on their knowledge of number.
Find a difference by counting up (pg 1)
The second in our series of rounding worksheets for Year 5 looks at rounding one and two decimal place numbers.
When rounding an amount such as £3.47 to the nearest pound the key digit to look at is the tenths digit. If it is 5 or more, round up. Less than 5, round down.
So £3.44 rounded to the nearest pound is £3.
£3.47 rounded to the nearest pound is £4.
Rounding is very useful when making estimates of answers before using a calculator to make sure that the answer shown on the calculator is sensible.
It is important that children recognise that the value of a digit depends on its place in the number - otherwise we could only possibly have 9 numbers and zero! So the digit 1 in 120 has a different value than the 1 in 210. It is, of course ten times bigger as it is 100 rather than 10.
By Year 4 children should be applying this idea to decimals. The first column to the right of the decimal point is tenths so the 1 in 2.1 has a value of one tenth.
This maths worksheets looks at both place value and ordering simple decimal fractions. Children probably come across decimal fractions more often with money than any other area and it is a really good way to show place value eg one penny is £0.01, or one hundredth, whilst 10p is £0.10 or one tenth of a pound. (Notice we always put two digits after the decimal when using money, but not at other times.)
This is the third of our worksheets on the order of calculations for Year 6 children, introducing the idea that an expression or row of questions needs to be carried out in a set order so that everyone reaches the same answer.
This page concentrates on brackets.
The first four questions have a single set of brackets, which should be worked out first.
Questions 5 to 10 have two sets of brackets to work out. It is best to encourage a systematic approach, putting in the steps such as:
(4 + 2) x (3 - 1) = 6 x 2 = 12.
Why not just put in the answer? because if an answer is wrong it is much easier to see where the mistake has been made and later at High School students need to show all their working out.
Finally there are a set of expressions which will only be correct if a pair of brackets are entered in the right places.
Order of calculating (Bodmas) pg 3
Reading decimal fractions can get quite tricky when moving into hundredths and this maths worksheet is a good test of understanding, probably most suited for year 5 children (/10 yrs old).
0.24 can be read as 24 hundredths or 2 tenths and 4 hundredths. As a fraction it would be written as 24/100.
With a number such as five and three hundredths it is important to keep the zero in the tenths so that it is written as 5.03.
Watch out for a common mistake on a question such as twelve hundredths when children write 0.012; the one digit has been placed in the hundredths column when it should be in the tenths with the 2 digit in the hundredths.
Decimal fractions: hundredths (pg 1)
Rounding decimals follow the same rules as rounding whole numbers. This first maths worksheet looks at rounding tenths to the nearest whole number. If the tenths are 5 or more round up to the next whole number. If they are less than 5, round down; in other words keep the units the same.
Some children get slightly confused by the term ’round down’ as they think they have to make the units one less (ie 14.3 rounded is 13). Watch out for this mistake.
In real life different rules can apply eg if you have a cupboard 115.4 cm in length it is no use rounding this measurement down to see if it fits in a space. The space may be 115 cm but the cupboard won’t fit!
Rounding decimals (tenths) pg 1
Here is the second of our mini series on using a calculator to check the results of mental calculations. In this case 10 has to be n from various numbers , including six digit numbers. Whilst doing these it would be a great idea to practice saying these larger numbers out loud, as many children find this quite difficult and get little chance to practice.
The calculator can be made into a ‘take 10′ machine. With many calculators by keying in the minus sign (-) followed by 10 then the equals sign the answer -10 is shown. Ignore this, don’t clear the answer, and type in another number eg 450 and press the equals sign and the answer will come up (440).
This calculator worksheet can be used by children of different ages, depending on their ability to read and work with large numbers.
Find this worksheet in Year 4 Using and Applying Maths
Fractions and decimals are two of the sticking points in maths, but here we have a maths worksheet which neatly combines the two, showing the equivalence between fractions and decimal fractions. Many children do not realise the link between a digit written after the decimal point and a fraction i.e. 0.2 is the same as 2/10.
One way to show this is to use the fraction as a division sum. 2/10 can be seen as 2 divided by 10. Do this on a calculator to get 0.2. Also remember, to divide by ten mentally, just move each digit one place to the right, putting in the decimal point if moving from units to tenths.
Decimal fractions: tenths (pg1)
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