Year 5 Maths

Chapters to explore

Place value extends beyond thousands. Negative numbers lie below zero on a number line. Moving right increases the value. The distance across zero can be found by counting to zero and then onward.

Try it: Use a number line to explain a change that crosses zero.

Factors divide a whole number exactly. Multiples are generated by multiplying. A prime number has exactly two positive factors: 1 and itself. One is not prime. Use factor knowledge and partitioning to calculate efficiently.

Try it: Find factor pairs for two numbers and explain which are prime or composite.

A mixed number combines a whole number and a proper fraction. To add fractions, express them in equal-sized parts. An improper fraction has a numerator at least as large as its denominator.

Try it: Show a mixed number with strips and write its equivalent improper fraction.

Percent means out of 100. Fractions, decimals and percentages can express the same proportion. A 10% amount is one tenth, 25% is one quarter and 50% is one half.

Try it: Explain one percentage in words, as a fraction and using a diagram.

Angles on a straight line total 180°, and angles around a point total 360°. Area uses square units; volume uses cubic units. A cuboid’s volume is length × width × height when units match.

Try it: Build a cuboid from equal cubes and compare counting cubes with multiplication.

Convert measurements by using the relationship between units. Timetables describe scheduled times. A graph should have labelled axes and a readable scale. Interpreting information may require more than one step.

Try it: Plan a journey using a timetable and explain the waiting and travelling times.

Angles on a straight line total 180°. Angles around a point total 360°. Use known totals to find missing angles and check whether a diagram is drawn to scale. Appearance alone is not an exact measurement.

Try it: Draw and solve two missing-angle problems.

A percentage means parts per hundred. Common equivalents connect fractions, decimals and percentages. For example, one quarter is 0.25 and 25%. The whole must be identified when finding a percentage of an amount.

Try it: Show three equivalent forms of a familiar fraction.

Graphs represent data using chosen scales and labels. Check equal intervals and whether an axis begins at zero. A graph can show a trend without explaining its cause. Compare values carefully rather than judging bar height alone.

Try it: Make a graph and state one thing it cannot tell you.

Learning together

Each chapter brings together teaching, an example, practice and a practical discovery. Use the material with discussion and suitable offline activities. Choose a comfortable starting point and revisit explanations as needed.