Free Worksheets Maths: with a calculator

Calculator words (upside down)

As the summer term comes to an end why not have some more fun with a calculator. I expect most children have worked out the certain combinations of letters will form words when the calculator is turned upside down and this page looks a little more closely at this.

For example: 0.7734 will greet you with the word ‘hello’, albeit in a slightly odd font, but perfectly readable.

There follows 5 calculations which give words.

Once children have worked out which letters can be converted into words then there is a tremendous range of words that can be created. The second page suggests just a few of them.

One good idea is to let children find the number that makes a word and then make a clue up , in a similar way to the worksheet. This will involve plenty of excellent practice at working with numbers.

Calculator words

Y4 Using a Calculator: Take 10

Here is the second of our mini series on using a calculator to check the results of mental calculations. In this case 10 has to be n from various numbers , including six digit numbers. Whilst doing these it would be a great idea to practice saying these larger numbers out loud, as many children find this quite difficult and get little chance to practice.

The calculator can be made into a ‘take 10’ machine. With many calculators by keying in the minus sign (-) followed by 10 then the equals sign the answer -10 is shown. Ignore this, don’t clear the answer, and type in another number eg 450 and press the equals sign and the answer will come up (440).

This calculator worksheet can be used by children of different ages, depending on their ability to read and work with large numbers.

Using a calculator: Take 10

Find this worksheet in Year 4 Using and Applying Maths

Using a calculator: Take 1

Most children have access to a calculator, and there are very good reasons why their use should be encouraged. However, there is still a great deal of opposition to them. I certainly would not advocate their use to solve simple sums which can be done mentally or on paper, but they are great for investigations and improving attitudes to maths.

This first calculator page uses the calculator as a quick check for mental arithmetic. Taking one from a number might appear very easy, but with large numbers such as 20200 it requires a good knowledge of place value.

This page also introduces the idea of the calculator as a function machine, in this case a ‘take 1’ machine. With many calculators by keying in the minus sign (-) followed by 1 then the equals sign the answer -1 is shown. Ignore this, don’t clear the answer, and type in another number eg 450 and press the equals sign and the answer will come up (449). Continuing in this way saves time as it more than halves the number of entries to type in. It can, of course be applied to any subtraction which has to be done on numerous occasions.

Using a calculator: Take 1