Percentages - Understanding Percentages - Planning

In a structured Year 6 lesson plan focusing on the concept of percentages, students are tasked with solving problems that involve calculating percentages and using them for comparison. This is in line with the National Curriculum objectives, which also include recalling and using equivalences between simple fractions, decimals, and percentages across various contexts. The key vocabulary for the unit encompasses terms such as 'fraction', 'percentage', 'convert', and 'equivalent', among others, which are crucial for understanding the relationships between these mathematical concepts. To support learning, the lesson plan suggests using worksheets and a presentation, with vocabulary cards and definitions available to aid comprehension.

The lesson begins with a starter activity that encourages students to recap their existing knowledge of percentages by discussing what a percent is and recalling instances where they have seen or used percentages. The class then moves on to visual activities where students identify the percentage represented by a shaded area on a grid or bar, reinforcing the concept that percentages are parts out of 100. The plenary involves a 'Give me five' reflective exercise, where students evaluate what they've learned, the skills they've used, and any challenges they faced during the lesson. Depending on their level of understanding, children will work with a 100 square and tenths to find percentages, adding percentages using multiples of 10 and 5, or applying their knowledge to work with different representations of 100.