Solving problems Children need to able to read and understand problems written in prose that include some elements of real life, although, particularly with younger children, 'real life' has to sometimes be a little artificial in order to keep the problems within their ability levels. They should be able to read the problem, understand the situation described, be able to see what processes are necessary to solve it and then lay out their answer clearly, giving some explanation. Explanations should be brief and to the point and it is good practice to encourage children to set out their answers down the page, one line at a time. Solve problems involving money Children should understand and be able to read and write the following words: money,  coin,  pound,  £,  pence,  note,  price,  cost,  cheaper, more expensive,  pay,  change,  total,  value,  amount, discount Children need to able to read and understand problems written in prose that include some elements of real life involving money. They should be able to read the problem, understand the situation described, be able to see what processes are necessary to solve it and then lay out their answer clearly, giving some explanation. Explanations should be brief and to the point and it is good practice to encourage children to set out their answers down the page, one line at a time. Solve problems involving time Children should be familiar with the units concerned with time and understand times written as 24 hour clock times. Children should be able to calculate the period between two times and add or subtract a period from a time. e.g. How long is it between 16:35 and 19:25 ? e.g. What time is it 37 minutes after 16:55 ? e.g. What time is it 27 minutes before 13:45. ? They should be able to use times involving tenths of a second for timing races etc. They should also be able to explain how they arrived at their answers. Investigating number and shape This year is concerned with investigating a whole range of problems of increasing complexity involving number and shape and being able to recognise and explain patterns. Children should then be able to extend the ideas presented and use these to make predictions and ask 'What if....?' questions. Problems may appear in many forms such as the following: Choose from a set of numbers the numbers that satisfy a certain condition. Arrange a given number of 2-D and 3-D objects in pre-defined patterns such as squares into certain shaped rectangles. Filling in missing digits in a sum. Sorting numbers using their properties. Dividing up shapes according to a given rule. More on Challenges and Investigations More on Concepts in year 5