You are aiming to teach all Year 5 children age-related expectations by the end of the year. But what are the basic skills that you can't let them leave your class without?
Hamilton's 'Go to the Wall' skills are the heart of what enables children to become successful in maths. They are the building blocks of maths without which children will be blocked from making further progress. All children need to work towards age-related expectations throughout the year. But you need to be sure that children are confident in these 'Go to the Wall' mathematical skills before year-end. EVERY child should possess ALL these ground-level skills as they leave Year 5.
- Locate 5 and 6 digit numbers on a landmarked line; use this to compare/order numbers.
- Round to ten, a hundred, a thousand or ten thousand.
- Begin to read scales of different types.
- Understand a one-place decimal number as a number of tenths and a two-place decimal number as a number of hundredths.
- Understand the effect of multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100 to give 1-place and 2-place decimal answers, e.g. 4.5 x 10 = 45 and 678 ÷ 100 = 6.78, etc.
- Add or subtract 0.1 or 0.01 to/from any decimal number with confidence, e.g. 5.83 + 0.01 or 4.83 - 0.1.
- Add and subtract mentally with confidence – where the numbers are less than 100 or the calculation relies upon simple addition/subtraction and place value. Examples include: 6,723 - 400, 78 + 46, 72 - 46, 8020 + 910, 100 - 64, 5000 + 12,000, etc.
- Confidently add 3- and friendly 4-digit numbers together using a secure written method, including adding ‘piles’ of numbers, e.g.
- Subtract larger numbers using expanded column subtraction or by counting up (Frog).
- Begin to subtract decimal numbers using counting up: 6.2 - 3.5.
- Know and recite all times tables including division facts.
- Multiply 2- and 3-digit numbers by numbers ≤12 using grid method; multiply 2-digit by 2-digit numbers using grid method.
- Scale up or down by a factor of 2, 5 or 10.
- Perform divisions mentally within the range of tables facts using remainders and fractions and decimal equivalences, e.g. 68 ÷ 8 = 8 r4 or 8½ or 8.5.
- Divide 2-digit and 3-digit numbers by one-digit numbers above the range of tables using efficient chunking.
- Reduce fractions to their simplest form, including tenths to fifths and hundredths to tenths, e.g. 40/100 = 4/10 = 2/5 which is also 0.4.
- Identify simple fraction and decimal equivalents: ½ ≡ 0.5, 0.25 ≡ ¼ and 0.75 ≡ ¾.
- Measure and compare capacities, weights and lengths, including perimeters using SI units; understand the concept of area and count squares to find areas.
- Understand the properties of triangles; find unknown angles in triangles and rectangles.
We strongly recommend that you ensure that your children fully master these skills by tracking them through the year.