June, 2010 | Maths Blog

Free maths resources: a number week

Next week our free maths resources are very much to do with counting and number.

Firstly we have a page on revising counting back in whole tens from any 2-digit or 3-digit number. Some children still find this difficult in Year 3, especially when it involves crossing a hundreds boundary. If children do find this hard it is well worthwhile going back to a large number square and making sure that they are confident with counting on, crossing the hundreds boundary.

We also have something harder for those who are getting to grips with written methods of subtraction. Using written methods of subtraction can prove quite tricky with money as it involves decimals. It is important to lay the question out in the standard way, even if it is shown horizontally or just as a written problem and most importantly, to keep the decimal points in a line.

We also have another page on multiplying mentally. There are some definite dos and don’ts when it comes to multiplying decimals ‘in your head’, which Year 6 children should be well aware of as they approach going on to High School.

To multiply by 10 move each digit one place to the left, including tenths to the units, if necessary.

To multiply by 100 move each digit two places to the right.

Year 6 maths worksheet: Imperial and metric units

It is a sad state of affairs that schools are still having to teach children to convert imperial to metric units, even when we have been metric for over 40 years. Many adults still use feet and inches to measure their height, use miles per gallon in their cars and stones and pounds to measure their weight. Yet a great many do not know how many pounds there are in a stone or how many yards there are in a mile, making the whole thing nonsensical and bewildering to children.

Nevertheless, here it is, a page of conversions with some info about the imperial system.
Convert imperial to metric units (1)

Resource of the week: relate division and fractions

$y5-relate-division-and-fractions-1$

Something in the archives for Year 5 this week. The relationship between fractions and division is one which many children fail to grasp. Put simply, one fifth of 30 is equivalent to 30 divided by 5, or written as a fraction 30 over 5.

It can be a great help to see a fraction as a division calculation. 1/2 can also be thought of as one divided by two.

This page takes a quick look at this and should show whether your child does understand this important relationship.

Relate division and fractions (pg 1)

Year 2 maths worksheet: counting on in tens

Here we have another page to help with counting on in tens from a 2-digit numbers. A little care needs to be taken with these as the question asks,

“How many tens did you count?”

So, when counting in tens from 23 to 43 the answer is 2 (tens), not twenty.

Many children (and adults) count out loud and use their fingers to work out the answer to this type of question, holding out one finger each time ten more is added. Nothing wrong with this but care needs to be taken that ten is not counted when saying the first number out loud.

More counting on in tens

Year 4 maths worksheet: Multiply multiples of 10

This page is an excellent illustration of how knowing ‘tables’ and understanding place value can make other maths much simpler. These questions are all multiplying multiples of ten by a single digit.

If you know that 7 x 8 = 56 then 70 x 8 can be done ‘in your head’ very quickly.

probably the hardest questions on this sheet are those set out like this:

490 x 7 = ??

The best way to approach this is to ask what times 7 makes 49? and work from there.

Multiply 2-digit multiples of 10 (pg 1)

Coming soon: Multiplication, counting and converting units

Next week we have an excellent illustration of how knowing ‘tables’ and understanding place value can make other maths much simpler with a page of questions all about multiplying multiples of ten by a single digit.

If you know that 7 x 8 = 56 then 70 x 8 can be done ‘in your head’ very quickly.

Many children (and adults) count out loud and use their fingers when counting on in tens, holding out one finger each time ten more is added. Nothing wrong with this but care needs to be taken that ten is not counted when saying the first number out loud.

It is a sad state of affairs that schools are still having to teach children to convert imperial to metric units, even when we have been metric for over 40 years. nevertheless I have included some work on concerting imperial and metric units.

Year 6 worksheet: Add decimals mentally

A straightforward mental arithmetic page on adding decimals. The process is very much the same as adding two 2-digit whole numbers. When adding in our heads we usually start with the largest numbers, which, of course, is the opposite of the way we do it on paper. This needs pointing out to children as many, even in Year 6, lack the strategies necessary for mental addition.

When adding 3 decimals there are several different strategies that can be used, including:

looking for pairs that make 1

starting with the largest number

counting on

knowing doubles etc.

Add decimals mentally

iPhone app: multiplication game

It’s a first for me: an iPhone App. But, it is a good one if you’ve only got a few pence to spare and you will need to be pretty nifty with your tables to get a good score. Practice your tables and see those cows move faster and faster with this great app. It’s easy to begin with, but don’t be fooled!!

Practice any table from 1 to 12
Challenge yourself to see how many correct answers you can get
See if you can beat your highscore!

The app is available in the app store now.

Calculator game: Multiples of 10

Multiples of ten are fairly easy to work out, but nevertheless this is a good game of strategy to play to help reinforce multiples of 10. Choose a number on the grid then try and make it on the calculator by multiplying a number by 10. If correct and the answer on the calculator matches the number on the grid place a coloured counter on the grid. Play then goes to your opponent, with the aim of trying to get 4 in a row.

Calculator game: Multiples of 10

Year 3 maths worksheet: Reading scales

Children are used to reading scales where the divisions go up in ones, but they find it much harder when either they go up in larger numbers or when not all the divisions are numbered. This worksheet does both of these. The ruler shown is a scale drawing and each division is 10 cm, but only the 100 cm division lines are named.

Once it has been established that each mark represents 10 cm., it is relatively straightforward to work out the lengths shown. As children usually only use centimetre rulers this might be the first time they come across a ruler where not all the divisions are numbered.

Reading scales (1)