1 kilometre = 1 000 metres

1 metre = 100 centimetres

1 kilogram = 1 000 grams

1 litre = 1 000 millilitres

They are also expected to recognise half units, such as half a kilometre and that this can be written as ½ km, or 0.5 km or 500 m.

Problems involving comparisons continue in length, capacity and mass, and once again most of these should be on a practical basis.

One of the most useful benefits of the metric system is the relationship between the units:

a litre of water can be contained in a 10 cm cube (1 000 cubic cm) and has a mass of 1 kg. Hence a 1 cm cube of water has a mass of 1 gram and is known as 1 ml.

Choosing suitable units continues from year 2, with many similar activities, but a greater emphasis on standard units and mathematical language.
It is an excellent idea to have a collection of pots, cartons etc which show the capacity and wrappers which show weight. These can be grouped in various ways and comparisons made.
Choosing the correct unit to measure is important and practice can be given orally on these questions – hold up a pot and ask what you would measure the capacity in as part of the daily mental arithmetic.
In Year 3 children measure and draw lines to the nearest half centimetre. It is important that they have rulers which include millimetres and that they understand that 0.5 is the same as a half.

Much more can be found in our measurement for Year 3 pages here.

The measurement questions test knowledge of the number of metres in a kilometre and the number of centimetres in a metre.

The Year 5 questions cover fractions, multiplication, differences and quotients. Finding a quarter of 66 litres is quite tricky and probably best done by halving and halving again. Half of 66 is 33. Half of 33 is 16 and 1/2. it is a good idea to practise halving odd numbers so children get used to having halves as part of the answer.

Finally in year 6 it is revising addition and subtraction, but the questions demand considerable ability to get the correct answers. It is a good idea to go through these and discuss the best approach to take to ensure correct answers.

Go to Year 4 mental arithmetic

Go to Year 5 mental arithmetic

Go to Year 6 mental arithmetic

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The first set deals with multiples of 10p and is therefore much easier. Perhaps the hardest part is matching the images to the cost and some children will find it helpful to make jottings next to the images.

The second set deals with far more awkward amounts such as £1.99 and £1.49. Probably the best technique to use with these is to round the amounts up to the nearest whole pound or 50p, add them and adjust at the end. This is certainly the way I did it whilst working the answers out! It is very tricky otherwise.

With both these sets of questions it is well worth taking a little time to ask children how they set about them and the techniques they used to work out the answers.

Go to our Christmas maths activities

Help your child to be confident and capable of great results!

Understandably, many parents do not know very much about what is actually on the SAT Papers so here is a great chance to familiarise yourselves and get a much better idea of what is expected from Year 6 children.

More than this, it is very good practice for children to have a go at past papers so that they become familiar with taking a test and with the style and content of the questions. Many schools give their Year 6 children past papers to practice on, but completing a whole paper is not necessarily the best approach to further learning. My experience with doing this is that children answer the paper, it is marked and given back to them and apart from the mark they got, they show very little further interest in the questions. It can be quite a chore going through the whole paper! This is where our special page by page questions, answers and suggested methods saves the day.

We have split up past papers into single sheets, each with a further page on how the answers can be marked and suggested ways of approaching the questions. Taking one or two questions at a time is much better, and with the range of hints and tips included in the suggested methods it gives parents and children plenty to talk about.

This makes it much easier for a parent to know what to do. If a child gets the answer correct that is great, but it is still well worth talking about how they did it and compare their methods with the suggested methods we have given. If the child gets the answer wrong, then again, talk about it and look at the suggested methods. It might well be a good idea to have a go at some of the URBrainy worksheets on the same subject. Doing one or two questions at a time allows you to spend worthwhile time on each question rather than rushing through the whole paper.

Good luck with the SATs!

Goto the Worked Solutions

For younger children we have ‘Fireworks 1’, a set of pages which looks at counting and matching small numbers, up to 5.

For Year 3 we have ‘Fireworks 2’, a sparkling page of word problems, covering money, addition and subtraction.

For those of you who are looking for some Handling Data questions then why not try our ‘Firework Tally Chart and Graph pages.

Finally, what a great way to look at percentages, as there is 20% off all the fantastic fireworks on display in our Firework Festival, including Rockets and Comets!

We hope you find them useful and that you have a fun and safe Bonfire Night.

Go to the Bonfire Night worksheets

Think carefully of the process you went through to find the answer.

One way is to double 15 to make 30 and then multiply 30 by 4 to make 120.

Or I could multiply 8 by 10 to get 80 and then multiply 8 by 5 to get 40 and add 80 and 40 to get 120.

Or I could multiply 30 by 8 to get 240 and halve it to get 120.

Or…… there are lots of other ways which I am sure many of you have found.

But did you know that we are now producing weekly sets of mental arithmetic questions for each of Years 4, 5 and 6?

It can be surprising what children are expected to be able to do ‘in their heads’. In today’s classroom more emphasis is placed on mental methods of calculating than anything else in the maths curriculum. A range of mental methods are taught so that, for any calculation, children will have several strategies that they can use to work out the answer. The method they use will be adapted to suit the particular numbers involved.

Mental methods of answering number problems are thought of as the first resort: pencil and paper is only used if it is too complex to do ‘in your head’.

But did you know that we are now producing weekly sets of mental arithmetic questions for each of Years 4, 5 and 6?

Many of the pages on the site concentrate on mental arithmetic but we have recently embarked on some excellent mental arithmetic pages which are growing into a really useful resource as time goes by. Even better, you can begin to use them right now knowing that they will be updated week by week as the term goes on. They are the first in a series of mental arithmetic questions aimed at Years 4, 5 and 6, with 24 sets, per year group, per term.
Each page consists of two sets of ten questions, followed by an answer sheet. Each set is a full A4 page so that they can be used in several ways. If given orally the teacher/parent only needs to print the answer page as all the questions are included on this and the children can just write the answers or call them out. If the teacher/parent wants the child to read the questions then they can print out the question sheets as well. This could also be shown on a whiteboard.

The key aspect of these sets of questions is to ask children how they went about answering them – and you will be surprised and intrigued by some of the ways they reply. Why not start this week?

Go to year 4 mental arithmetic questions

Go to year 5 mental arithmetic questions

Go to year 6 mental arithmetic questions

To add to our addition games, we have nw released a set of subtraction games for you to enjoy. There are 24 great new mental maths games on subtraction for children aged between 8 and 9 (that’s year 4 in the UK).  To make it a little easier to find the one you would like to play, we have broken them down into categories:

• Know Subtraction Facts
• Subtraction Strategies
• Written Subtraction

Remember, you can play all the mental maths games during a free trial, but once that has come to an end you can get unlimited access for just a small monthly fee or a one off yearly payment.

We are very excited to release the first set in a series of year 4 mental maths games. We have just added 27 great new mental maths games on addition for children aged between 8 and 9 (that’s year 4 in the UK).  To make it a little easier to find the one you would like to play, we have broken them down into categories:

• Know Addition Facts
• Addition Strategies
• Written Addition

Each of the games gives plenty of practice and most give a printable answer sheet at the end showing exactly where you went right (or wrong). The written addition activities show the methods used to help children understand written addition.

Remember, you can play all the mental maths games during a free trial, but once that has come to an end you can get unlimited access for just a small monthly fee or a one off yearly payment.

Great news! We have just launched our next set of fantastic maths games and activities for year 3. There are now four new categories, with over 30 separate activities. The important point about these games is that each one focuses on one key mathematical concept, which can be practised time and again, until it becomes second nature. The activities have been organised into the following categories:

Doubling and Halving

Plenty of practice here for doubling , including timed activities on doubling numbers up to 20 and doubling multiples of 5, as well as using doubling to add two consecutive numbers. There are also two halving activities, including a parachute game halving whole tens; one of my favourites.

Understanding Multiplication

Our kangaroos show clearly that multiplication is repeated addition and we also have two excellent activities using arrays to understand the 3x and 5x tables. The visual images of these activities really help children with these important concepts.

In Year 3 children will be beginning to use written methods of multiplication, but not yet the standard method. Schools use methods which follow on from mental methods and our multiplication activities help explain these methods as well as providing unlimited practice on the computer.

Times Tables

This is the year that tables really begin to be known, starting with knowing the 2x, 5x and 10x tables off by heart and then moving on to the 3x, 4x and 6x tables. What better way to show how well tables are known than to play some of these great games, including tractors leaping over ducks and parachutes landing in airbeds?

Division and Fractions

For those still getting to grips with division, why not try dividing the burgers between 3 plates. Our Language of Division activity shows the different vocabulary that can be used to ask division questions and the division sign is also introduced.

Remainders can cause problems for children but we have four activities for dividing with remainders, including using number grids as an aid and two which use word problems.

Don’t forget to try the fractions pages which reinforce the idea that finding a half is the same as dividing by 2, and finding a quarter is the same as dividing by 4. Finally, don’t miss our ghostly activity on finding one fifth of numbers.