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

Curriculum content descriptions

Solve problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions with the same or related denominators (ACMNA126)

Elaborations
  • understanding the processes for adding and subtracting fractions with related denominators and fractions as an operator, in preparation for calculating with all fractions
  • solving realistic additive (addition and subtraction) problems involving fractions to develop understanding of equivalent fractions and the use of fractions as operators
  • modelling and solving additive problems involving fractions by using methods such as jumps on a number line, or by making diagrams of fractions as parts of shapes
General capabilities
  • Numeracy Numeracy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

Subtraction,  Addition,  Related denominators

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

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

Fractions: Year 6 – planning tool

This planning resource for Year 6 is for the topic of Fractions. Students develop increasingly efficient strategies for adding and subtracting fractions with related and unrelated denominators. They develop conceptual understanding by being given opportunities to estimate before computation and justify their thinking. They ...

Text

Fractions

This is a website designed for both teachers and students that addresses components of the arithmetic of fractions. It is particularly relevant for comparison and addition and subtraction of fractions with related denominators. It also contains material on finding a fraction of a quantity where the result is a whole number. ...

Text

Pattern & Algebra Year 6 - Calculate

The focus of this activity to challenge students to unpack a rule and see if it is being used correctly. Often students will just learn a rule and blindly use it. This task gets students to stop and think and then make corrections to ensure the rule works in all cases (generalise).

Text

Café Fractions - Calculate

In this task, students take the role of the owner of a cake wholesaler, baking and supplying cakes to local café businesses. As café owners order their weekly cakes by the slice, students are required to add unit fractions together to calculate total cake orders. They then solve problems associated with subtracting fractional ...

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 ...

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.

Interactive

Equivalent fractions pointer

This is an interactive resource about fractions. It presents students with a fraction and its equivalent visual representations as both the shaded portion of a shape and as the location on a number line. Students are also presented with two other empty shapes, and are required to divide each blank shape into equal portions ...

Online

reSolve: Fraction Benchmarks

This sequence of two lessons focuses on the idea that fractions are numbers and builds students' understanding of the relative sizes of fractions. Students build their fractional sense through determining if fractions are closest to 0, 1/2 or 1. In the first lesson, students use sets of fraction cards to sort fractions ...

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, ...

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.

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.

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

Whole numbers with all four operations

This is a website designed for both teachers and students that addresses whole numbers with the four operations from the Australian Curriculum for year 6 students. It contains material on the strategies and algorithms used when adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing whole numbers. There are pages for both teachers ...

Interactive

Sites2See: Patterns and Algebra

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

Online

TIMES Module 14: Number and Algebra: fractions - teacher guide

This is a 16-page guide for teachers that provides an introduction to fractions. It covers ordering, the four basic arithmetic operations, cancelling, writing in simplest form, the use of the area model for multiplication and the use of the number line for ordering, adding and subtracting. A history of the development of ...

Online

TIMES Module 7: Number and Algebra: addition of whole numbers - teacher guide

This is a 16-page guide for teachers. This module introduces addition of whole numbers.

Online

MoneySmart: It's raining cats and dogs...and chickens?

This is a year 6 mathematics unit of work about keeping pets. The unit is intended to take about 12 hours of teaching and learning time, and is recommended for near the end of the school year. It consists of an introduction, seven sets of student activities, and teacher notes. The student activities include building a word ...

Video

MathXplosion, Ep 40: Kaprekar's operation

Did you know that 6,174 is a very mysterious number? In 1949, the mathematician Dr Kaprekar from India devised a process now known as Kaprekar's operation. First, choose a four-digit number where the digits are all different. Then rearrange the digits to get the largest and smallest numbers these digits can make. Finally, ...