Decimals - Complements to 1 - Starter

In a numeracy session designed for Year 5 during the Summer Term, students tackle the concept of decimals and complements to 1. The lesson begins with a 'Fluent in Four' revision segment, which encourages children to practice rapid arithmetic and understand the place value system, including ones, tenths, hundredths, and thousandths. They are presented with a variety of multiplication and division problems to solve, such as finding the product of 8 times a number to make 40 and doubling the product of 42 times seven. The session also includes a visual chart representing a decimal number, where students must identify the number shown and calculate what nine thousandths less than that number would be.

Application of these mathematical concepts is further explored through real-life scenarios. Students are asked to estimate what a quarter of the votes might be for a given flower in an election and to tally the total number of votes cast. Additionally, they engage with a practical financial literacy problem involving Joe, who has earned £2,000. The task is to work out how much Joe spent on rent and food, given fractions of his total earnings, and to calculate the total expenditure. These exercises not only reinforce the students' understanding of decimals and fractions but also integrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills within everyday contexts.