Mathematics / Year 6 / Number and Algebra / Fractions and decimals

Curriculum content descriptions

Add and subtract decimals, with and without digital technologies, and use estimation and rounding to check the reasonableness of answers (ACMNA128)

Elaborations
  • extending whole-number strategies to explore and develop meaningful written strategies for addition and subtraction of decimal numbers to thousandths
  • exploring and practising efficient methods for solving problems requiring operations on decimals, to gain fluency with calculating with decimals and with recognising appropriate operations
General capabilities
  • Numeracy Numeracy
  • ICT capability Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capability
ScOT terms

Rounding,  Subtraction,  Addition,  Decimals

Interactive

Sites2See – number for primary

Selected links to a range of interactive online resources for the study of number in Foundation to Year 6 Mathematics.

Online

Decimals

This is a website designed for teachers and students in year 5, and addresses components of the working with decimals topic. It is particularly relevant for comparison, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with decimals. There are pages for both teachers and students. The student pages contain interactive ...

Online

Four operations: Year 6 – planning tool

This planning resource for Year 6 is for the topic of Four operations. Students apply knowledge of place value to add and subtract decimals, using digital tools where appropriate. They further develop whole number multiplication and then strengthen their understanding of decimals by multiplying and dividing decimals and ...

Downloadable

Smart shopping

Students compare and evaluate different shopping options.

Interactive

Summing Decimals

An interactive resource in which students learn how to add and subtract numbers that have up to two decimal places.

Video

Catalyst: Small scale measurements

What units of measurements do we use to describe incredibly small things like blood cells and atoms? Watch as you are taken on a journey to explain the different units of measurement that we use to describe the very small.

Video

ABC News: Mapping a sea voyage: calculating distance

Scientists involved in the Two Bays Project describe data collection methods for their 20-day expedition around Port Phillip and Western Port bays. Watch this clip to view the route mapped out by the scientists. Use Google Maps to recreate the route and calculate the total distance travelled.

Interactive

Wishball: hundredths

Test your understanding of decimal place value with numbers that include hundredths. Receive a starting number, such as 46.87, and work towards turning it into a target number, such as 85.32. Spin a random digit, choose its decimal place value and decide whether to add or subtract the random digit from your starting number. ...

Interactive

Circus towers: square stacks

Work out how many acrobats are needed to form square-shaped human towers. Start by building a square tower with four acrobats: two acrobats in the base layer and two acrobats standing on their shoulders. Examine a table and graph of the total number of acrobats in the towers. Predict the number of acrobats needed to build ...

Interactive

Playground percentages

Help a town planner to design two site plans for a school. Assign regions on a 10x10 grid for different uses such as a playground, canteen, car park or lawn. Calculate the percentage of the total site used for each region. Use a number line to display fractions and equivalent fractions.

Video

Decimals and fractions

This is a video demonstration of converting decimal fractions to simplified fractions. In the commentary, the presenter highlights the relevance of understanding and applying place value concepts, including the efficiency in initially interpreting the fractional part of the decimal fraction as a single fraction. Practice ...

Video

Subtracting decimals

This is a video demonstration, with audio commentary, of the procedure for pen-and-paper subtraction of decimal fractions. In the commentary, the presenter emphasises the links with the underpinning concepts of place value. Practice questions, limited to subtraction of decimal fractions involving tenths and hundredths, ...

Interactive

The foul food maker: go figure

This tutorial is suitable for use with a screen reader. It explains how the use of simple words can describe the likelihood of everyday events. How likely is an event: certain, likely, equal chance, unlikely or certainly not? Answer some questions using these words and then build your own examples. Learn how to describe ...

Video

Adding decimals

This is a video demonstration, with audio commentary, of the procedure of adding decimal fractions. In the commentary, the presenter emphasises the links with the underpinning concepts of place value. Practice questions, limited to addition of decimal fractions involving tenths and hundredths, are presented with answers, ...

Interactive

Fraction fiddle: hit the apple

Help an archer to hit an apple with his arrow. Build two fractions to make a total of one whole. Complete the numerators of both fractions (they may have fixed denominators). For example, work out how many quarters and how many eighths can be added together to total one whole. Look at fraction bars and a number line to ...

Video

What is a quarter?

What is a quarter? You get quarters when you divide a whole into four equal parts. Each one of these four parts is a quarter. Watch this great explainer produced by Monique in collaboration with ABC Splash and see how she explains quarters.

Video

BTN: What is the GST?

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a tax placed on things people buy with money or things people do for money. Can you name some goods and services that have GST? What about some goods and services that don't have GST? Find out when and why the GST was first introduced.

Interactive

Fraction basics - Easy & Effective Fractions Tutor - iTunes app

Learn about the core concepts of fractions through 12 animated clips. View the clips on the topic that you want to learn about. These clips will help build a string foundation in fractions. Free when reviewed on 12/5/2015.

Video

Fractions in the real world

How many quarters make up a whole? Watch this video to find out how else you can represent 2/4 and how to add up quarters to make a whole.

Online

Literacy and numeracy improvement: a whole-school approach

This teacher resource describes how 74 public schools in metropolitan, regional and rural Western Australia used three major components of the school improvement cycle to achieve significant improvement in the literacy and numeracy learning outcomes of their students. The resource is organised in nine sections: Summary, ...