UKS2 (Year 5 and Year 6) Checking calculations - informal methods, inverse operations and estimation

Learning Objectives

Starter:
- To perform (mental) calculations, including with mixed operations and large numbers.

Main Lesson:
- To solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division (Year 5)
- To use their knowledge of the order of operations to carry out calculations involving the 4 operations (Year 6)
- To use the 4 operations, including formal written methods, applied to integers and decimals, (KS3)

This lesson consists of:

A Starter consisting of a series of progressively harder addition, subtraction, multiplication and division calculations. A connect activity getting children to consider how they might check answers using informal methods and inverse operations.

An Interactive Whiteboard teaching introduction for both Notebook and ActivInspire, to teach when to use inverse operations and when to use informal methods in order to check calculations. .

A 4 way differentiated series of calculation checks where the children take on the role of a teacher, marking a series of sums, and showing the inverse operations / informal methods that they have used to check the answers. Answers are supplied to ease marking.

An AFL / Next Steps task introducing the idea of using estimation to check problems where miscalculations are linked to Place Value.