Use this five-lesson Year 5 Maths scheme to explore different mental and written methods for subtraction, including negative numbers.

#TheCompleteSeries5lessons

Revisit different mental and written methods for subtraction including using negative numbers in context, decimal numbers and rounding and estimating.

#Lesson1FormalSubtraction

Revisit the formal written method for subtraction by using the column method to find the differences between heights of mountains from around the world. Use this opportunity to have the children describe how column subtraction works and when and why they need to exchange. They will be challenged to find the pairs of mountains matching a given criterion using their estimation skills in the process.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Mountains map

#Lesson2DecimalNumbers

Children discover the world record attempts for longest distance travelled underwater on a bike and many more. They are challenged to use column subtraction to find the distance between these records in kilometres. They will be reminded of the importance of layout for these problems as well as solving problems involving numbers with different numbers of decimal digits.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
World record cards
Results sheet

#Lesson3PositiveandNegativeNumbers

Explore negative numbers in the context of dates before and after 0 AD. The children are challenged to calculate the length of time between dates in history using two jumps along a number line whilst more able children are extended by being expected to use their understanding of subtracting negative numbers to estimate differences to choose suitable dates from a selection.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Positive and negative signs
Teacher cards
Challenge cards
Historical timeline
Event cards

#Lesson4PartitionedSubtraction

Introduce your class to a new method of subtraction involving negative numbers and partitioning. Challenge your class to use their knowledge of negative numbers to subtract numbers with no exchanging and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this new method with them.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Numbers in words card
Budget cards

#Lesson5Estimating

Challenge your class to use their estimation skills for a purpose. Ask the children to make or choose a sensible estimate for a subtrahend to complete a question with limited information, before discussing what makes an estimate sensible or inaccurate.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Challenge card
Rounding loop cards
Check Yourself sheet

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Curriculum Objectives covered

Year 5 - add and subtract whole numbers with more than 4 digits, including using formal written methods (columnar addition and subtraction)
Year 5 - add and subtract numbers mentally with increasingly large numbers
Year 5 - use rounding to check answers to calculations and determine, in the context of a problem, levels of accuracy
Year 5 - solve addition and subtraction multi-step problems in contexts, deciding which operations and methods to use and why
Year 5 - solve problems involving number up to three decimal places

Mental and Written Subtraction