The final sets of mental arithmetic for this term have now been published, with two more sets for each of years 4, 5 and 6. Year 4 looks at doubling, multiplication and shapes. Doubling twice can be an effective way of multiplying larger numbers by 4 'in your head'. There are also several questions which check knowledge of the properties of 2D shapes. Year 5 concentrates entirely on addition and subtraction. It is always interesting to think about how you add two 2-digit numbers mentally. For example 73 + 96 can be done several ways: 1. add 70 and 90 to make 160, then add 6 to make 166 then add 3 to make 169. 2. add 96 and 3 to make 99, then add 70 to make 169. 3. add 100 to 73 to make 173, then adjust by subtracting 4 to make 169. and there are others. The key issue is that should should be aware of these differing methods and have as many of them as possible at their fingertips. Finally year 6 has several questions on fractions, such as finding three tenths of 70. This is usually done in two stages; find one tenth by dividing 70 by 10, which is 7, then multiplying the 7 by 3 to get 21. Go to year 4 mental arithmetic Go to year 5 mental arithmetic Go to year 6 mental arithmetic