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Coming soon: Multiplying and calculators

Next week we concentrate on multiplication together with a calculator activity.

The first worksheet is a reminder of the golden rules about multiplying:

When a number is multiplied by 10 it moves one place to the left.

When a number is multiplied by 100 it moves two places to the left.

The second worksheet looks at multiplication and addition with another golden rule. The rule is that the multiplication should be worked out before the addition, whatever the order of the question. This is a good mental arithmetic exercise but children may need to make jottings to help them.

We also have a harder version of the 2x table calculator game, published earlier, in that the grid has larger multiples of 2.

News: Latest Ofsted report

The latest Ofsted figures show that more schools are being judged as inadequate. In 2008/9 the proportion of schools judged as inadequate was 4% but this has more than doubled to 10% this year.
Why? Well, it has more to do with the way Ofsted works than schools actually getting better or worse. Ofsted is concentrating on inspecting schools which have a poor record in the past, so they are not looking at the best schools as often. Outstanding and good schools will only be inspected every 5 years whilst inadequate schools receive regular visits.

Continue reading “News: Latest Ofsted report”

Resource of the Week: Year 4 data handling

Most of the worksheets that you see free online are for numbers and calculating, as these are the easiest to produce. However, mathsblog has an excellent range of worksheets across all areas of maths, including data handling. Here is a page on interpreting bar charts, which also uses the 24 hour clock. it is important to point out that charts such as these must have a proper title and that the axes must be labelled. When children produce their own bar charts they often forget to do this labelling.

When looking at a bar chart one of the first things to do is work out how the numbers are being represented. In this case the number of people on the bus is shown in blocks of 10 and half way between would be a block of 5.

Bar chart: buses

Year 6 maths worksheet: Reading decimal fractions

$reading_decimal_fractions 1$

By Year 6 children should have a good understanding of place value, including decimals. Decimal fractions are often best taught in the context of money, but this only covers tenths and hundredths. This maths worksheet looks at thousandths as well. There two main parts: firstly, writing the value of decimal fractions in words and secondly, writing decimals in digits using the decimal point correctly.

Just like whole numbers a digit becomes ten times smaller when it is moved one place to the right after the decimal point, so the digit 6 in 0.467 is 6 hundredths and the 6 in 0.356 is 6 thousandths.

Reading decimal fractions (1)

Carol Vorderman’s maths

Carol Vorderman’s maths
Well, I was hoping to have a look at this but at the moment it is impossible to sign up to Carol Vordeman’s maths site. Too many applicants. Not surprising given that she had a 7 minute free advert on prime time BBC which included talking about her price structure as well as a link on the BBC site to her site. I’m sure all the other companies producing similar maths material, such as Conquer Maths, Whizz maths, Mathsgogogo, MathSphere, URBrainy, 10 Ticks (I could go on!) would like a similar 7 minutes free advertising and links.

Whilst I’m totally in favour of improving maths I do think all these sites should be given equal chances to advertise: but I believe that the BBC are not supposed to advertise.

Coming soon: Fractions, time and calculator activities

On our year 6 fractions page there are several different sets of skills and knowledge needed. Firstly knowledge of measurements eg that there are 1000 metres in a kilometre, 1000 ml in a litre etc, as well as a couple of Imperial measures thrown in as an extra challenge.

Secondly, to be able to write 600ml as a fraction of 1litre eg 600/1000.

Thirdly to be able to simplify fractions eg 600/1000 is equivalent to 6/10.

Getting a clear concept of amount of time is important for young children. Next week’s page on time challenges children to complete a number of tasks in one minute, such as how tall a tower can be built using blocks/lego etc.

Also coming soon is a calculations game to help with learning the two times table.

Resource of the Week: Year 4 Find a difference

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)

Coming soon: Multiplication, fractions and a tables game

Next week we have a page on knowing that multiplication can be done in any order. This, of course, is also true of addition, but not subtraction or division and this knowledge comes into play a great deal later on with ‘BODMAS’ etc.

We will also be publishing a tricky year 6 worksheet on fractions. Understanding equivalent fractions is the key to understanding fractions generally and this page will test students understanding.

A good way to reinforce the 2x table is to play our fun game. For two players, why not take on your son/daughter?

Review: Number Partners

I came across a really interesting project the other day for anyone in business who would like to share their love of maths with children in school for just a few hours a month.

Number Partners is a volunteering programme designed to support young people in schools across the country with their number and financial literacy skills. Volunteers visit primary or secondary schools to play number games with students, making maths and financial literacy fun, improving their skill with numbers and boosting their confidence.

Evidence indicates that not only do volunteers help in supporting young people’s maths, but are also vitally important in the development of their personal and social skills.

“It’s rewarding to see how giving up a small amount of your time can make a big difference. I was amazed by how excited the children were!”

Volunteer Number Partner

Number Partners volunteers are highly valued in schools and they are in great demand. To read case studies of Number Partners in action and how it can make a real difference to children in schools across the country, please visit the Number Partners website at www.numberpartners.org

News: Are children getting enough sleep?

Newsround has come up with some interesting data about children’s sleep habits. It found that more than half of the 9 to 11 year old children interviewed admitted that they thought they needed more sleep.

Most children of this age went to bed by 21.30 but then many stayed up watching TV, playing video games or games on their mobile phones.

Over half the children interviewed said they had a TV in their bedrooms.

Experts recommend at least 10 hours sleep a night and a lack of sleep has been linked to a wide range of behavioural problems such as ADHD.

How important is it that parents know what their children are doing, what TV programmes they are watching, what computer games they are playing and what they are accessing on their phones? This is impossible to monitor if they are sent up to their rooms to ‘play’ for hours.