Category: Resource of the Week

Resource of the Week: Divide by 5 mentally

divide-by-5Learning tables is considered an essential to maths progress, and indeed, it is vital. But knowing tables is only a starting point: these facts then need to be used. The most obvious use other than to multiply numbers is to do the reverse; to divide numbers. We have a number of resources which look dividing ‘in your head’ including this one on divide by 5 mentally.

Essentially it is the reverse of a times table sheet and highlights that if 4 x 5 = 20 is known then 20 divided by 4 = 5 should come quickly after it.

Mental arithmetic: divide mentally

Resource of the Week: times tables number search

3-times-tableLooking for something to get the brain going again towards the end of the summer holiday? We have some great resources in our Puzzles section, including this one which is a number search using the 3 times table.

All of the 3 times table up to 10 can be found somewhere in the number search, either across or down, but it is not as easy as it looks as there are plenty of ‘red herrings’.

This is just one of quite a large selection of puzzles which MathSphere has given us for the site.

Enjoy the rest of the holiday!

3x table number search

Resource of the Week: Year 5 Probability

y5-probabilityThis week I am highlighting our probability worksheets for Year 5.

Probability is one of the least understood of maths concepts, especially with young children.

By year 5 children are expected to be able to say whether events are impossible , unlikely , likely or certain.

They should also be able to say which events have an even chance of happening (such as tossing a coin and getting a head), but they should be careful not to say that if there are two possibilities, they are equally likely. For example, there are two possibilities – I might buy a new Jaguar today or I might not. Unfortunately, these two events are not equally likely.

Another example of this is if I choose a number between 1 and 5. Is the number I choose a prime number? As there are three prime numbers between 1 and 5 (2, 3 and 5) and two numbers that are not, there is not an even chance that I will choose a prime number; rather there is a 3 in 5 chance, or 60% chance.

Year 5 probability pages

Resource of the Week: Counting games for early years

count-game1We have a great set of fun maths games for Reception/Early Years and one of my particular favourites is the Counting Goats game. This is really good practice at counting up to 5. Young children can not get too much practice with this both in the home and on the computer. They may well use their fingers to help and count out loud, but after a time they will begin to count in their heads. Adults can often glimpse at a picture to see how many there are, almost without counting – don’t expect this of 5 a year old!

Don’t forget to click on the banjo playing goat at the end for a happy tune!

Counting up to 5 game