Max Maths, Year 6, Try it, Mental addition and subtraction

In the 'Max Maths' Year 6 curriculum, students are encouraged to develop their mental arithmetic skills, particularly with addition and subtraction. The 'Try it' section provides exercises that can be solved mentally by recognising patterns in numbers, such as their multiples. For instance, to find the difference between 6,700 and 4,400, students notice that both numbers are multiples of 100. By simplifying the task to finding the difference between 67 and 44, they can easily calculate that 67 - 44 equals 23. Hence, the difference between 6,700 and 4,400, maintaining the hundreds place, is 2,300.

Similarly, for addition, students can mentally add 3,800 and 1,200 by first considering the simplified version of adding 38 and 12, which equals 50. Therefore, the sum of 3,800 and 1,200 is 5,000. The 'Let’s Practise' section provides further mental exercises, where students subtract and add numbers with ease by breaking them down into their base components. For example, 780 - 180 equals 600, 3,000 + 2,500 equals 5,500, and so on. These exercises train students to perform calculations swiftly in their heads by identifying and utilising number patterns and relationships. Students are directed to workbook pages 35 to 37 for additional practice and reinforcement of these mental arithmetic strategies.