Fractions - Add and Subtract Fractions - Planning

In the Year 5 spring term, students embark on a journey to enhance their understanding of fractions, particularly focusing on adding and subtracting them. The week's lessons are designed to build on the knowledge acquired in Year 4, where they first learned to work with fractions that have the same denominator. Key vocabulary such as 'proper fraction', 'improper fraction', 'numerator', 'denominator', and 'bar model' are highlighted to support learning. Through the use of worksheets and presentations, the children are encouraged to complete 'fluent in four' questions to warm up their mathematical minds. The class then revisits the concept of bar models, which are instrumental in visualising the addition and subtraction of fractions, and the children practice this technique with various examples.

During the lesson, students engage in a series of activities that involve hands-on practice with bar models to understand the process of combining and separating fractions. They explore scenarios where the sum of fractions exceeds one whole and learn to convert improper fractions to mixed numbers. The lesson also challenges students with equations where they must determine the missing fraction, using inverse operations or mental strategies to find the solution. Group work and independent activities provide opportunities for reasoning and problem-solving, with differentiated worksheets catering to varying levels of proficiency. As the lesson concludes, students reflect on the skills they've used and the concepts they've grasped, ensuring they remember the important relationship between fractions and bar models, and how these tools can be used to solve equations.