Maths Blog

Next week we solve one of the mysteries of fractions with a foxy worksheet which looks at how to read and write fractions from halves to tenths using numbers or words.

We also have a cunning page on division for year 4. This has a range of different ways of asking division questions which children need to be able to recognise and there are a number of methods that can be used to work out the answers mentally.

Continuing on the division and fraction theme we have a Year 5 worksheet which relates them both. It can be a great help to see a fraction as a division calculation. For example 1/6 can also be thought of as one divided by six or one whole one cut into six equal pieces.

Children should not start formal education (that’s sitting down to read, write do maths etc) until they are at least six. So says the devastating attack on our schooling by the largest study of Primary Education for 40 years.
The Cambridge Primary Review, led by Professor Robin Alexander recommends putting us in line with the rest of Europe by continuing with the play based learning which now goes on in Nurseries and Reception classes for at least another year.
They argue that many children are introduced to formal reading and writing before they are ready and are ‘turned off’ by a lack of success.
There is certainly a great deal to be said for this approach, as our European counterparts, including Wales, seem to be much more successful with educating their children. Many four and five year olds have not developed sufficiently to be taught to read and write at 5. They immediately start to fail, this leads to disenchantment and a negative attitude to the next 10 years of school life. It really is a waste of time and effort trying to teach children before they have matured sufficiently to understand the concepts involved.
The survey also calls for the abandonment of the SATs, claiming they are too narrow and not fit for purpose. Unfortunately, the Government do not appear to be listening.

Understanding equivalence in fractions is probably the key which opens the door to understanding the whole world of fractions. One of the first things to remember about equivalence is that the larger the number on the bottom of the fraction, the smaller each part of the fraction is. So 4/100 is much smaller than 4/25. Also it is much easier to compare the size of two fractions if the bottom numbers are the same. Next week we look further at these ideas with a year 4 equivalent fractions worksheet.

By year 5 solving division problems ‘in your head’ get quite tricky and a very good understanding of the relationship between multiplication and division is needed. We also will be publishing a page with questions involving sharing with remainders, which need both working out ‘tables’ and calculating the number left over.

Also coming up soon is a further look at number squares for Year 2 children and is excellent practice at understanding place value as well as counting. A small section of the whole number square, just 4 by 3 is taken and most of the numbers removed. The skill is in replacing the missing numbers.