Resource of the Week: subtraction

count-up-crossing-thousandsThere are many occasions when a 4-digit subtraction can be done ‘in your head’. These questions, suitable for Year 5, are examples of this. They all involve numbers which are just over and just under a whole thousand.

For example: 3003 – 2994

Probably the easiest way to do this mentally is to count on 7 from 2993 to make 3000 and then count on, or add, the extra 4, making 11.

This is much easier than doing the question on paper, with lots of ‘borrowing’ and carrying, crossing out etc!

We have a growing number of pages on mental subtraction including this:

Count up crossing thousands

Learning tables: grids

alltablesMultiplication tables are the basis for a huge amount of maths, ranging from simple sums to division and cancelling fractions.

Use these sheets as timed practice, with the aim of getting a quicker time for each and, of course, all correct. A limit on time can be given. A good 11 year old would need 2 minutes or less; most children would need between 10 to 15 minutes to begin with.

The grids can be approached in a variety of ways; completing in strict order or picking out the ones you know (such as 1x and 10x) first and then filling the gaps.

There are lots more like this at mathsphere.co.uk

All tables grids

Dispatches: Kid’s Don’t Count

Dispatches Part 1 Kid’s Don’t Count
This two part special asks how and why we seem to be failing our young children when it comes to maths.
One fifth of children are leaving primary school without basic skills and far too many children dislike maths. The programme also questions the maths ability of the teachers.
The average 8 year old should be able to work out a question such as half plus a quarter. Many can’t.

Dispatches follows a class of final-year pupils at Barton Hill Primary School in Bristol as their staff adopt a radical approach to teaching, in a bid to improve the maths ability of these children before they head off to secondary school.

The blank looks on the children’s faces in the programme showed that they had no idea how to answer the questions. So why were they being asked these questions when they should have been working on a task they could achieve?

Much goes wrong very early in school, from Reception on, when children are moved on too fast, don’t grasp the basics and are lost from that point on. They don’t know basic number bonds such as 4 + 6, they don’t understand the value of the digit 1 in 15. Yet suddenly they are being asked to add 40 and 60! This is especially true of children who come into school with poor language skills. The best thing a parent can do is talk to their children.

Many teachers think that because they have taught a child something that the child has understood and learned it. Too often the planning says they have to move on, regardless of the needs of the children. So move on they do; the teacher, that is, not the child!
By the time children reach Year 3 they know so little they are really beginning to fail.

Many teachers’ own maths is weak, and like most of us, resort to old methods they went through themselves, even though those methods failed them.

Often it is teachers who don’t like maths who make it most difficult for the children, by not allowing them to use practical apparatus, or fingers to help count.
Intervention programmes usually work over the short term, it is more difficult to keep it up. Part two will be interesting!

Year 4 worksheet: Multiplication with addition

multiplication with addition

If a question involves both multiplication and addition then the convention is that the multiplication should be carried out first, then the addition.

So for 4 + 5 x 3

Firstly multiply 5 by 3 and then add on 4 to make 19.

Now some calculators do this (Scientific etc) but some work out each part as it is keyed in. This results in two calculators arriving at different answers: always interesting to show children!

Multiplication with addition

Coming soon: Multiplication worksheets

tennis2Next week the emphasis is firmly on multiplication. To begin with we have a worksheet on the order in which we carry out a calculation. If a question involves both multiplication and addition then the convention is that the multiplication should be carried out first, then the addition.

This is followed by a tables grid, one of the most popular types of maths worksheet known on the planet.

We also have a multiplication by whole tens page which is a good introduction to written methods of multiplication.

Year 1 Maths: 3 in a row addition

dice_3_in_a_row_addition_game urbrainy.com are coming up with some excellent resources for year 1, including this great little board game of strategy and knowledge of addition to play with your child. You will need 2 dice, 2 sets of 5 different coloured counters or cubes plus a calculator and the games sheet.

Decide who is to go first.Player one goes first and rolls the two dice. Add up the total and place a counter on a square showing that number.  If the number has already been covered it becomes the next players go. Then player 2 has their turn. The winner is the first person to put three counters in a row, across, down or diagonally.

Dice: 3  in a row addition game

Resource of the Week: Reading the time

about-what-imeThis maths worksheet on reading time to the nearest quarter of an hour highlights several issues which create problems for children.

Firstly, on the clock face the hours are clearly numbered but the minutes are not and children need to be able to count on in fives before they can read minutes successfully.

Secondly, when telling someone the time we often approximate, either to the nearest quarter of an hour or the nearest five minutes, even when we can see clearly what the time is to the nearest minute.

Thirdly, when saying the time out or writing it we use several different conventions, as shown on the answer sheet.

Lastly, many children seldom come across this type of clock face, especially if they use digital watches, mobile phones etc., therefore take much longer to work it out – don’t be surprised to find ten year olds unable to read an analogue clock correctly.

About what time

Year 6 Maths Worksheet: Percentages and Fractions

percent_and_fractions_1_large

This worksheet looks at the relationship between fractions, decimal fractions and percentages. This often proves very tricky for many children who fail to grasp that because percentage means ‘out of 100’ it can also be represented as a fraction.

Children should begin to understand that 23% also means 23/100 or 0.23.

later, when trying to work out how to find a percentage of a number it can be done quite easily by multiplying by the decimal fraction. In other words, to find 23% of a number multiply it by 0.23.

Percentages and fractions (1)

Year 5 Maths Worksheet: Square numbers (4)

square_numbers_4

This maths worksheet for Year 5 children introduces the idea of  ‘index’ for writing the square of a number. Children should understand that 42 means ‘4 squared’ or 4 times 4. Often it is mistaken for 4 x 2.

Remind children that ‘square numbers’ are called ‘square numbers because they can be represented in an array with an equal number in both rows and columns. Again, encourage children to learn their square numbers up to at least 10 squared. This will help greatly when square roots are introduced.

Square numbers (4)


Coming soon: Square numbers, percentages and addition game

snowflake_1Next week we have a maths worksheet for Year 5 children which introduces the idea of  ‘index’ for writing the square of a number. Children should understand that 42 means ‘4 squared’ or 4 times 4. Often it is mistaken for 4 x 2.

We also have a page looking at the relationship between fractions, decimal fractions and percentages. This often proves very tricky for many children who fail to grasp that because percentage means ‘out of 100’ it can also be represented as a fraction. Most suited to Year 6 children.

For younger children we have a dice game which gives practice with counting single digits.