The expectations for children using mental arithmetic are very high in Years 5 and 6. In fact, by the end of year 6 they match most of what would be expected in High School or as an adult. In order to reach these high targets a great deal of practice needs to be put in so that children develop a whole range of mental arithmetic skills that they can use confidently. One way to practice is to have lots of mental arithmetic tests, which is OK but not always a great deal of fun. Another way is to use our mental arithmetic games and activities on the computer. We have just added the next set of activities, covering some quite tricky addition skills for years 5. These include: Add 3 or 4 small numbers quickly ( e.g. 5 + 7 + 8 =) Add the nearest multiple of 10 and adjust (eg 34 + 49 by adding 34 and 50 and subtracting 1) Adding two or three multiples of 10 or 100 (e.g. 900 + 800) Adding a 3-digit multiple of 10 to a 3-digit number (e.g. 220 + 435) Add a multiple of 10 to make 1000 (e.g. 270 + ?? = 1000) Find pairs of multiples of 50 or 100 that make 1000 (eg. 750 + ?? = 1000 Finding pairs of decimals that total 1. Whilst these activities include fun games, the mathematical content is paramount and only one new skill is practised at a time. To be able to do these types of question depends on using previously learned skills. If these are proving to be very difficult it is well worth dropping a year or 2 until activities can be tackled confidently. Go to Year 5 Maths Addition of Multiples of 10 and 100