Addition and Subtraction - Estimate and Approximate - Planning

In a Year 5 mathematics lesson focused on Addition and Subtraction, students are introduced to the concepts of estimation and approximation. The lesson aims to enhance their skills in rounding numbers and applying these to real-world problems. The key vocabulary for this session includes terms such as 'estimate', 'approximate', 'rounding', 'appropriate', and 'nearest 10/100/1,000'. Students start by engaging with a set of 'fluent in four' questions to recap their previous learning. The class then moves on to a word problem where they must use their knowledge of rounding to estimate the cost of a school trip, rounding to the nearest pound for simplicity and practicability. The lesson encourages children to consider the most suitable degree of accuracy for rounding, taking into account the ease of mental addition and their own mental maths capabilities.

During group work, students collaborate to estimate the costs of another school trip, sharing their answers and discussing the strategies they used. This is followed by independent learning through differentiated worksheets that cater to various levels of fluency and reasoning. The lesson concludes with a plenary that consolidates the day's learning and addresses common misconceptions, such as identifying the most appropriate number to round to and recognizing the practical value of estimation in everyday situations. The session ends with a reflective 'Give me five' activity, where students review what they've learned, the skills they've used, what they found challenging, what supported their learning, and what they promise to remember from the lesson. Differentiated outcomes are provided for students working towards expected levels and for those achieving greater depth, where they tackle increasingly complex problems involving money and other measures using estimation skills.