Category: Free Year 6 Maths Worksheets

Year 6 Equivalent Fractions

Here is another page of equivalent fractions. One part of each pair of fractions is missing and the missing numerator or denominator needs to be entered. Remember, equivalent fractions are fractions which have the same overall value.

One interesting way to check whether two fractions are equivalent is to carry out a couple of multiplications; what is known as cross multiplication. To check whether a/b is equivalent to c/d just multiply a by d and then multiply b by c. If the two answers are equal then the fractions are equivalent. This is a really good way to check to see whether the answers given are correct.

Equivalent fractions (pg 2)

Resource of the Week: Reflective symmetry

There is quite a lot of work done in Year 6 on symmetry and the subject often comes up in the Key Stage 2 SATs.

Some of this involves important vocabulary and by the end of year 6 children should know and be able to read, write and use the following quite tricky words:

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 are expected 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 actually prove problematic to many children. A small mirror or tracing paper can be a great help with this.

Year 6 maths worksheet: reflective symmetry

Year 6 Maths Worksheet: Equivalent fractions

equivalent fractions pg 1

Understanding equivalent fractions is at the heart of understanding how fractions work. Much work needs to be done in earlier years to show that fractions such as 1/2 and 2/4 have the same value. This is usually done by colouring or shading parts of rectangles, circles.

Two fractions which are equal in value we say are equivalent.

2/5 is equivalent to 4/10 which is equivalent to 40/100.

If we start with a fraction and multiply both the numerator (top number) and the denominator (bottom number) by the same number the fraction will remain with the same value. The same is true with division, but not addition or subtraction.

This makes multiplying fractions much easier than adding or subtracting them.

Equivalent fractions (pg 1)

 

Resource of the Week: Magic Square with negative numbers

magic square negative numbers

With the Year 6 SATs all over and still a half term’s maths to get through there has never been a better time to introduce some investigations and puzzles. One of my favourites topics is the magic square, as it can be incredibly simple or extremely complex. This particular magic square is quite challenging as it involves adding negative and positive numbers, so it is a good check to see if children are confident dealing with negative numbers

The numbers to put into the squares are given on all three magic squares and on the first puzzle there is a clue that each row, column and diagonal adds up to -3.

One of the best strategies to use with these is to work out what the centre number should be and what the total of each row etc should be. it is also a good idea to cut out small squares with the numbers on so that they can be moved around the board with ease.

Please note that there are several different ways of solving these magic squares and just one way is shown on the answer page.

Magic square negative numbers

Resource of the Week: Year 6 converting metric units

Children in Year 6 still need plenty of practice using the metric system, in particular converting larger metric units to smaller ones. Here we are highlighting a page which looks at converting metres to centimetres, kilos to grams and litres to millilitres.

One of the trickier aspects of this is to convert a weight such as 6.09 kg into grams, which of course is 6090 g. watch out for common mistake children make of writing just 609 g.

This is one of several similar pages found in our Year 6 Measuring section of the site.

Year 6 Larger units to smaller units (1)

Year 6 maths worksheet: adding fractions

My first addition of fractions page was very popular and I have had  several requests for more, as it does take some time and re-inforcement to get the hang of this concept. I believe that adding fractions is one of the hardest topics for children to understand, mainly because it involves so many steps.

Remember, to add two fractions the denominator has to be the same: this requires a good understand of equivalent fractions, so make sure that this is fully understood before attempting addition. Once this has been done the addition is easy, as the denominator stays the same and just the top numbers (numerators) are added.

This will result in a vulgar fraction eg 14/10 which needs to be converted to a mixed number.

As there are ten tenths in one whole one this makes 1 and 4/10.

Finaly the fraction can be simplified: 4/10 is the same as 2/5 so the final answer will be 1 and 2/5.

This page can be found in our Year 6, Calculating category.

Adding fractions that total more than 1 (pg 2)

Adding fractions with totals more than one.

One of the hardest things to get across to children is how to add fractions. All too often they will just add the numerator (top number of the fraction) and denominator (bottom number of the fraction) and get the wrong answer. The key to success is to create two equivalent fractions with the same denominator. The denominator stays the same when adding the numerators.

Look at 2/3 + 5/9

It is not possible to add thirds and ninths directly, so the two fractions need to be converted to their lowest common denominator; in this case ninths. Don’t try to add fractions until children have a really good understanding of equivalent fractions.

2/3 is the same as 6/9 so the question now becomes:

6/9 + 5/9 which is easy: 6/9 + 5/9 = 11/9

Convert the 11/9 to a mixed number which is 1 and 2/9.

Done!

Adding fractions that total more than 1

Maths worksheets on Knowing Multiplication Facts in year 6

Expectations of what children should know are high in Year 6 but we have a great selection of maths worksheets to help. It is assumed (often wrongly) that by Year 6 children have a good knowledge of ‘tables’ and can quickly recall any table from 2 to 10. With this in mind they can put their knowledge to good use by multiplying decimals mentally. A question such as 0.6 x 5 is not that much trickier than 6 x 5, as long as place value is understood.

Square numbers are a part of this ‘tables’ knowledge, leading to questions such as what is the square of 30? It is worth spending a little time making sure that children know their square numbers up to 12 x 12 as they will occur time and time again when moving onto high school maths.

Go to our Year 6 Knowing Number Facts pages.

6 SATs practice questions

This is the first in my series of ‘Booster’ worksheets for year 6 children who are about to take the SAT tests. They aim to boost a child’s score in the test papers by making them familiar with the types of questions that they will come across.

It is rare for a straightforward sum of the type 34 + 67 = to appear on the paper. Usually sums are in the form of number sentences with numbers missing. Often there can be more than one correct answer.

For example, if you look at the first question, there are many possible answers. A tip here is to keep it simple. Why not write 46 + 10? Perfectly correct!

Plenty more like this in the Year 6 worksheets category

Booster_pg 1


KS2 SAT revision: Shape (3)

Another in our set of KS2 SAT revision worksheets on shape. This page looks at the understanding of co-ordinates and shape. The first question is straightforward and has three points on the grid to write the co-ordinates for. Now many children come across an easy question like this and instantly forget which number should come first. They need a simple memory nudge to remind them such as, ‘along the corridor and up the stairs’, although there are many others as well. In this case the brackets and comma are provided, but this might not always be the case and children are expected to use these correctly.

The second question is testing whether children understand what an isosceles triangle is. The grid is provided, but this can sometimes cause confusion. Once again, go for the most obvious way of doing this.

Whilst these questions will not teach the concepts they do act as a quick test as to whether or not more time needs to be spent on shape.

This, an other similar pages can be found in our Key Stage 2 Maths SAT Questions category.

KS 2 Maths SAT questions_Shape (3)