Subtraction Strategies

#TheCompleteSeries5lessons

Each lesson includes an easy-to-follow plan, a slide presentation for the teaching input, and differentiated worksheets.

#Lesson1WorldNumbers

The first lesson in this series challenges your class to problem solve and work out what the world looks like in numbers. They will use a variety of subtraction strategies to find out how many people in the world live in urban and rural areas, which continents people live on, the languages they speak and who has access to resources like water or electricity. Using subtraction they will compare and analyse the statistics they have discovered.

#Lesson2WorldPeaceDay

Through the context of the International Day of Peace your class will apply their subtraction skills to answer questions. They will find out the impact the day has, including how many people received vaccinations because of it. Your class will then explore the Global Peace Index, comparing and analysing where different countries are ranked globally. Finally your class will look at the Peace One Day YouTube channel and explore the number of views selected videos have received. This lesson is sure to have your class understanding more about the world as they use and apply a variety of subtraction strategies.

#Lesson3Charities

During this exciting charity-themed lesson your class will get to grips with applying a range of problem-solving strategies to answer questions. They will explore the number of people helped by charities and the amount of money earned and spent over several years. Finally your class will look at the money Save the Children spent on charitable activities and compare two different estimations of the same figure. This lesson will teach your class all about subtracting a wide range of numbers as they explore the budgets and the reach of well-known charities.

#Lesson4FundraisingEvent

While helping to plan a fundraising event your class will work out profit margins of stalls and decide the best activities to choose for the event. They will encounter mixed operation questions and multistep questions. They will need to ensure their brains are working at full speed when selecting the right numbers for the question and applying problem-solving skills. To finish your class will look at the money the school spent and raised in order to work out the profit they made. This lesson will teach your class all about subtracting as they explore the budgets and the profit margins of an event.

#Lesson5OrganiseaFundraisingEvent

In this final lesson of Subtraction Strategies your class will plan their own fundraising event. They will be challenged to work out profit margins and decide the best activities to choose for the event, while sticking to a budget. They will be introduced to the idea that certain items might encourage more people to attend the event and spend more money. During this lesson they will encounter mixed operation questions and multistep questions, all while having to ensure they have selected the right numbers to answer the questions. To finish your class will look at the income and the earnings of a fundraiser and work out the profit they made. This lesson will teach your class all about applying maths to real-life problems as they explore budgets and profit margins.

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Curriculum Objectives covered

• Year 6 - solve addition and subtraction multi-step problems in contexts, deciding which operations and methods to use and why
• Year 6 - solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
• Year 6 - use estimation to check answers to calculations and determine, in the context of a problem, an appropriate degree of accuracy