Resource of the Week | Maths Blog

Resource of the Week: Year 2 block graphs

It is in year 2 that children really get to grips with simple block graphs and here is one of the superb sets of year 2 maths worksheets which URBrainy.com have allowed me to publish. There are two aspects to block graphs. Firstly, interpreting a graph and understanding what it shows. Secondly, collecting suitable data to create a block graph.

This page is suitable for 6/7 year old children and looks at the favourite sandwich fillings of a class:- always a popular subject.

The first page involves interpreting the results of the graph, whilst the second page is a template which can be printed and used by the child to show the results of their own survey. It is well worth going to URBrainy as a simple log in process allows access to all their resources for a week as well as printing up to ten sets of worksheets. If you are looking for full and detailed coverage of Key Stage 1 then I can highly recommend this.

Sandwich graph

Resource of the Week: Simple Maths Games

Whilst most of the mathsblog site is about maths worksheets we do have a small selection of fun maths games for young children.

Listen under the Reception/Year 1 Maths Games there are over 20 simple maths games which younger children children may like to play and which will certanly help with counting, ordering and addition .

Here is one example to help with counting.

Help Ted colour his white balloons. Just by clicking in the balloons the colour will change.

One click will make a balloon go Red.

Two clicks will turn the balloon Blue.

Three clicks will change the colour to Gold.

Don’t forget to press Go when you think the colours are correct!

This is great practice at counting, why not have a go?

More games can be found in our Maths Games section.

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Maths Games: Adding game for Year 3 onwards

This Maths game is a great way to practise addition of small numbers. It is a game for two players and can be a good challenge for adults as well as children. Each player takes it in turn to place a counter over one of the numbers. When a counter is paced on the board the number is added to a joint total. It is a good idea to write the totals down as you go along, so that totals can be checked, or there might be a dispute! Once a counter has been placed it cannot be picked up.

The aim of the game is to make the total come to exactly 31. The player who does so is the winner.

If a player places a counter to make the total over 31 he/she loses.

This is a game of strategy and and there are times when the total can not be reached (perhaps if all the ones have been covered).

Make 31

Resource of the Week: How to do written multiplication

Some of our most popular resouces are to do with written methods of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. This is just one of our worksheets that show how to use the standard or efficient method to multiply a 3-digit number by a single digit. There are other methods equally good, but it is important that children keep to one method that they become confident with. It presumes a good knowledge of tables before starting.

For example: 436 x 7.

First, do an estimate of the answer.
436 x 7 is approximately 400 x 7 which is 2800. The answer will be over 2800.
Then set the sum out in a vertical layout:
436
x 7

Start with the units.
6 x 7 is 42. Put the 2 in the units and carry the 4 tens into the tens column, under the answer line.
Then multiply the tens.
3 (tens) x 7 is 21(tens). Add the 4 (tens). to make 25(tens).
Place the 5 in the tens column and carry the 2 (hundreds) into the hundreds column.

Finally the hundreds.
4 (hundreds) x 7 is 28 (hundreds). Add the 2 (hundreds) to make 30 (hundreds).
Place the zero in the hundreds column and the 3 in the thousands column.
The answer is 3052.
A clearer layout of this is available on the worksheet explanation.

Further written multiplication worksheets can be found in the Year 5 and Year 6 Calculations sections.

Standard written multiplication: 3-digits by 1-digit

Resource of the week: reflective symetry

Reflective symmetry seems to be a very popular topic for the Key Stage 2 Maths SAT Papers and it is not easy to find examples of the kind of question which is often asked. There are several mathematical terms to do with symmetry that children need to be familiar with. These include:

Mirror line, line of symmetry, line symmetry, symmetrical, reflect, reflection, translation, axis of symmetry, reflective symmetry.

Also they should be able to test for symmetry using a mirror and by folding.

Children should be able to sketch the reflection of a simple shape in a mirror line where none or only some of the edges of the shape are parallel or perpendicular to the mirror line.

This might seem easy, but actuallyoften proves to be problematic to many children. A small mirror is a great help with this and children are supplied with one in their SAT tests if such a question comes up.

Here we have the second of a pair of worksheets which looks at sketching the reflection of shapes in the mirror lines.

Year 6 maths worksheet: Reflective symmetry

Telling the time in Year 2

Time is one of the most searched for subject areas on the site. By the end of year 3 children are expected to read the time on a 12 hour digital clock, and to the nearest 5 minutes on an analogue clock. They are also expected to be able to calculate time intervals and find start and finishing times for a given time interval.

This worksheet looks at working out the times of TV programmes and how long they last. Working within units of 5 minutes much of this is straightforward. However working out the start times is a little more tricky and children need to be confident with telling the time to 5 minutes.

Newspapers and TV programme listings are a really good source of material for work on time and can also result in a lot of discussion about favourite programmes etc. They can also be used as a data source for graph work.

This page and others can be found in the Year 2 Measuring category.

TV programmes: telling the time

Resource of the week: Maths Vocabulary for Year 1

I am often asked about the words and ideas that children should be familiar with by the end of Year 1 and there is an excellent set of pages which help with this, found in the Year 1 Maths Worksheets/Vocabulary section.

If a child does not respond to a mathematical question it may be because they do not understand the words or instructions used. Another difficulty can arise when a mathematical term has a different meaning in everyday English eg ‘table’.

The following list has the new words that they should come across in school during year 1 to do with calculating and solving problems.
Words to do with calculating and solving problems:
plus                                       near double
how much more is…?     how much less is…?
subtract                             minus
half                                     halve
equals                               sign
number sentence
operation

Further lists on Number, Measures and Positioncan be found in the

Year 1 Vocabulary category.

Resource of the week: Christmas adding puzzle

Looking at my stats I can see that everyone is very busy with Christmas assemblies, shows, shopping, eating, drinking etc so I will shortly be joining you all and have a few days off. I will leave you with a little puzzle in case you have nothing better to do!

Put the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in the bottom layer of baubles on the Christmas tree. The next layer is made by adding the pairs of numbers below and so on up to the top.

The numbers on the bottom row can be put in any order – what order will give the highest possible total at the top?

Answer is given for those who have eaten too many mince pies.

Happy Christmas

Christmas adding puzzle

Top children’s reading books to help with maths

Over a period of time I have collected together a great selection of books suitable for young children to help them with counting and number skills. All these books are a great read in themselves, but they also all have a mathematical slant. They are rather hidden away within the Top Maths Books section and you will need to scroll down past the other maths books to find them, but if you have young children I thoroughly recommend having a look.

Books such as

The Boy who was Followed Home by Margaret Mahy all about a young boy being followed by a hippopotamus.

Handa’s Surprise set in Africa and full of exotic fruits and animals.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle, an absolute must for all young children.

Mr Wolf’s Week by Colin Hawkins is an old favourite, with an almost friendly wolf.

Not forgetting one of all time favourites, Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang, each page has a warm comforting glow, perfect for a bedtime story.

These are just a few of the great reading books suggested and they can all be found at;

Top Maths Books

Resource of the week: Year 4 pictogram-cars

This worksheet is suitable for Year 4 children. Graphs and pictograms are often seen as a quite easy part of maths, but many children find interpreting them correctly tricky. The pictogram displays information about the most popular cars seen in a village. All pictograms need a key so that it is clear how many each picture represents. In this case each picture of a car represents 5 cars.

Handling data should be seen as a practical activity, with deciding on what data to collect, making suitable collection sheets and recording information all key parts. This page should be seen more as a starter to go and collect data themselves and make their own pictograms. Problems might arise when the data is not in whole fives or tens. This can be solved by showing part of a car eg a wheel could represent one car. This would need to be shown clearly on the pictogram.

The worksheet can be found in our Year 4 Handling Data category, together with some other fun pictograms and graphs.

Pictogram: most popular cars