Build on your children’s bank of skills for solving problems where addition, subtraction, multiplication or division is required! ‘Choosing Methods’ explains a number of written methods for solving problems as well as demonstrating how children may check their calculations, ensuring accuracy. Throughout the lessons, a number of tricky word problems are shown where children must determine what sort of calculations are required, then choose appropriate methods to solve them.

Each of the five lessons includes a detailed plan, a set of slides for the teaching input, and differentiated worksheets.

Column Methods

With the included slides, recap methods for column addition and subtraction, then challenge children to practise these methods by finding missing numbers in partially completed column addition and subtraction calculations. Don’t fancy doing the missing number calculations with your class? Play the Target Numbers game instead, where children may add or subtract randomly generated numbers to get to a given target number.

Adding and Subtracting

Choose the best method! Challenge children to decide upon an appropriate method of addition or subtraction which they can use to solve a variety of word problems. The included slides demonstrate a number of methods; children can then practise these during either of the two included activities.

Multiplying and Dividing

In this lesson, children are reminded of a number of methods which can be used for solving division and multiplication calculations. Once a variety of methods have been looked at, it’s over to them! Whichever of the two included activities you choose, children may choose and practise these methods as they play multiplication/division games.

Expert Problem-solvers!

Let’s improve our problem-solving skills! Challenge children to carefully read word problems and determine what sort of calculations (multiplication or division) are required to solve them. Some of the two-step problems are really challenging: children will have to select multiplication and division methods to solve these!

Choose the Best Method

This, the fifth and final lesson in ‘Choosing Methods’, presents a number of problems where children must apply all that they’ve learned about addition, subtraction, multiplication and division! They may then either choose appropriate methods to solve a number of themed questions, or solve a number of +/-/x/÷ calculations – then sort them according to the answers they find.