Maths help for parents of children aged 5 to 11
This is a follow up page to an earlier worksheet on adding decimals mentally. The approach is probably the same as adding 2-digit numbers, in that most people seem to do these ‘in their head’ by adding the units first and then adding on the decimals.
So, with 4.6 + 3.5 my thinking would probably go along the lines of:
‘4 + 3 is 7, making 7.6 plus point 5 which is 8.1’.
It is not the only approach, but is usually a very effective one.
Just one page is not enough for children to become confident with a method, so as often as possible I include at least a second maths worksheet in this case, on ‘moving towards standard written methods’ of 2-digit addition’.
With this method the units are added and placed below the sum, making sure the units are in line and the ten is placed in the tens column. The tens are then added and placed below. The crucial concept here is to remember that it is tens which are being added, so there will be a zero in the units column to ensure that the tens numbers are kept in line. Finally the two answers are added.
This method shows clearly what is happening and should clarify the troublesome ‘carrying’ of the tens when using the standard written method.
Moving towards standard written methods of addition (2)
Magic squares come in all sorts of formats and these are quite challenging as they involve adding negative and positive numbers and are probably most suited to Year 6 children (10/11 yrs old).
On all three squares the numbers to put into the squares are given and on the first puzzle there is a clue that each row, column and diagonal adds up to -3.
To be successful with these it is important to work out what the centre number should be and what the total of each row etc should be.
There are several different ways of solving these magic squares and just one way is shown on the answer page.
Children need an awful lot of practice and ‘overlearning’ if they are ever really going to know their tables. By knowing, I mean instant response, so that they know that 3 x 6 is 18 just as quickly as if they had been asked their name!
It’s always good to find a slightly different approach and this worksheet does just that. The numbers 0 to 10 and the numbers 3 times as great are all on the sheet. All that has to be done is link each pair.
Thanks to urbrainy.com for this page. They have an excellent range of maths games and worksheets for young children and the site is well worth a visit.