Maths help for parents of children aged 5 to 11
Many children in Year 6 have difficulty reading and writing large numbers, including millions. This page is all based on millions as it looks at the area in square kilometres of some of the largest countries in the world. The task is to round the numbers to the nearest million, and as it happens all of these need to be rounded down.
It is well worth ‘talking through’ this page to make sure that the numbers are read correctly.
This is the follow up maths worksheet to the earlier explanation on how to estimate on a number line up to 10 000.
Most of the work on number lines in year 6 involve using decimals so this is a good chance to make sure that large whole numbers are understood. All answers are approximate but a guess can be considered good if it is about 50 either side of the answer given. It is also worth noting that because the scale used is about 1.5 cm for a thousand and that a millimetre represents over 60, to get within 50 the approximation needs to be within a mm on the scale! Very tricky!
This is the second in our revision sheets for dividing decimals by 10 or 100, ‘in your head’. A good understanding of place value is needed for this as there is little to do apart from move the numbers to the right. One place to the right divides by 10. Two places to the right divides by 100. Remember to put a zero in the units if there are no whole units: eg 8.7 divided by 10 is 0.87 not .87, as it would be very easy to miss the decimal and read this as 87.
This is a much trickier exercise than it first appears. Firstly, children need to be confident with reading large numbers and counting in thousands. Secondly they need to be able to visualise marks on a scale.
Only the zero and 10 000 are marked on the number line so it would be a good idea to jot down each of the thousands before trying to estimate where the arrows are pointing.
Then it is a good idea to work out if the arrow is pointing above or below the half way mark and then make an intelligent estimate according to this.
Whilst the Primary Framework for Mathematics has little to say about addition of whole numbers in Year 6 it is still worth revising skills and developing fast technique, especially with mental arithmetic.
Here we have a consolidation page of adding three 2-digit numbers, using all the techniques developed so far.If children find this difficult it could be that they are unsure of their basic number bonds, in other words how quickly can they add two single digit numbers. This should be almost instantaneous, if not it might be worth practising over the summer holiday!!
Here we have another page on multiplying decimal fractions by 10 or 100. The method used today is to move each number one place to the left when multiplying by ten and two places to the left when multiplying by 100. The decimal point does not move. I seem to remember moving decimal points around when I was at school but this is certainly not recommended here.
When doing this with money it is worth remembering that two digits should always be written after the decimal point, so that £2.56 x 10 is not £25.6, but £25.60. (This is not an excuse for saying ‘add a nought’.)
Here we have a number of simple tips and practice at adding three 2-digit numbers mentally.
By Year 6 children should have a wide range of techniques at their fingertips for adding mentally.
Some of the tips on this page include:
starting with the largest digit
adding the tens before the units
looking for pairs that make 10
add the nearest whole ten and adjust (eg add 39 by adding 40 and subtracting 1)
How to add three 2-digit numbers
A similar page to one posted earlier, this again looks at decimal fractions and how to manipulate them. The first set of questions involve changing decimals, using either the multiplication or division keys of the calculator, in just one step.
The second set of questions use the add or subtract keys.
Whilst the calculator is used, nevertheless a good understanding of number and place value is needed to be able to do these quickly and efficiently.
This is a good revision sheet for Year 6 to make sure that they understand the process of dividing decimals by 10 or 100. Knowledge of this is crucial for success in High School.
To divide by 10 move each digit one place to the right.
To divide by 100 move each digit two places to the right.
Sometimes a zero can be removed. For example: 360 divided by 100 is 3.60 or 3.6.
Sometimes a zero needs to be added. For example: £33 divded by 100 is £0.33.
There are some definite dos and don’ts when it comes to multiplying decimals ‘in your head’.
To multiply by 10 move each digit one place to the left, including tenths to the units, if necessary.
To multiply by 100 move each digit two places to the right.
The big don’t is to think that ‘add a nought’ is a short cut to multiplying by 10. 2.3 x 10 is not 2.30!!
This is a good check up page to make sure children understand what they are doing.