Maths help for parents of children aged 5 to 11
The Metric system is so much easier than the old Imperial system, but there are still a few problems which come up when converting larger units to smaller units. Before attempting this certain facts need to be learnt off by heart, including;
10 mm = 1 cm
100 cm = 1 m
1000m = 1 km Continue reading “Maths Worksheet: Converting metric units (1)”
Once again from the stats I can see that everyone is very busy with shopping, eating, drinking etc so will join you all and have a week off. I will leave you with a little puzzle given to us by Mathsphere which we sent up a year ago 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
Practice makes perfect, and this multiplication page gives loads of practice for the 2x, 5x and 10x tables. This is the first stage in introducing the idea of filling in a multiplication grid, multiplying the numbers across and down to fill in the grid.
The first time children come across this they will probably need some assistance, but once a couple have been completed they should be OK.
It is interesting to watch the techniques used to complete these grids. Some children proceed in strict order, others go for the easy ones first. It can be made more of a challenge to set a time limit for the whole page.
By year 4 children are expected to know that:
1 week = 7 days
1 day = 24 hours
1 hour = 60 minutes
1 minute = 60 seconds
This maths worksheet uses this knowledge to answer some straightforward questions. It also requires a calculator so more detailed information can be found, such as the number of minutes in a week. This, in turn, can lead on to some interesting investigative work, such as finding out how long a year is in minutes, and then how many minutes you have been alive (not forgetting leap years). It is quite an eye opener to realise how many precious minutes have been taken up in queues, traffic jams etc!!
This worksheet can be found in our Year 4 resources, under Measures
By year 4 children are expected to know that:
1 week = 7 days
1 day = 24 hours
1 hour = 60 minutes
1 minute = 60 seconds
One of next week’s maths worksheets uses this knowledge to answer some straightforward questions. It also requires a calculator so more detailed information can be found, such as the number of minutes in a week.
As we all know, practice makes perfect, and we are publishing a page next week which gives loads of practice for the 2x, 5x and 10x tables. This is the first stage in introducing the idea of filling in a multiplication grid, multiplying the numbers across and down to fill in the grid.
The Metric system is so much easier than the old Imperial system, but there are still a few problems which come up when converting larger units to smaller units.Look out for this great worksheet on converting metric units.
This is the second page on placing negative numbers on a number line, probably most suited to year 4 children. It asks for an arrow to be drawn to the correct position on the number line for each of the numbers shown.
Once again try to use the term ‘negative number’ rather than ‘minus’ which should be used in the context of subtraction.
Counting up and down a number line, passing through zero is a great way to show how negative numbers work and children will need to have done this before trying this worksheet.
It doesn’t seem like a year ago that this little Christmas maths puzzle was posted, but Christmas is now just around the corner (although our local garden centre would have me believe that it started in early October!).
This puzzle looks quite easy but can cause a lot of problems. Probably suitable for older children, or even mums and dads! It asks to put the digits 1 to 9 in stars around a Christmas tree so that each side of four stars adds up to the same total.
There are a number of solutions, the one shown just an example.
This worksheet looks at multiplication word problems taken from real life situations. All the questions can be answered if the 2x table is known. There are picture illustrations on this page to help. Some children may use these to count up in twos, but being able to count up is not the same as knowing tables off by heart. Children who know the two times table will be able to answer far more quickly than those who have to count; and speed is something we are looking to encourage with mental maths.
By year 6 children will be very familiar with the metric system, but here is a worksheet which should test their knowledge and ability to convert from a larger metric unit to a smaller one. It involves converting metres to centimetres, centimetres to millimetres, kilograms to grams and litres to millilitres.What makes it more tricky is that all the larger measurements use decimal fractions as well as whole units. This of course, needs careful multiplication by 10, 100 or 1000 and ‘adding a nought’ just won’t work!
By year 6 children will be very familiar with the metric system, but next week we have a worksheet which should test their knowledge and ability to convert from a larger metric unit to a smaller one.
We also continue with our series of multiplication for Year 2 with some multiplication word problems taken from real life situations. All the questions can be answered if the 2x table is known. There are picture illustrations on this page to help.
We also have the second page on placing negative numbers on a number line, probably best suited to year 4 children. This time the questions asks for an arrow to be drawn to the correct position on the number line for each of the numbers shown.