Year 6 fractions worksheets To add or subtract fractions sounds as if it should be easy, but in fact it is one of the hardest things for children to understand. Some children will just add the top numbers together and then add the bottom numbers, which, of course, results in a wrong answer. To understand why this won’t work children need to understand what a fraction means. The bottom number of the fraction (the denominator) tells us the size of the fraction, or how many parts a whole one has been divided into. So 2/6 tells us the whole one (cake) has been divided into 6 parts and we have 2 of these parts. The larger the bottom number the smaller the fraction, or part. 2/1000 is smaller than 2/100. Once this has been understood it is easy to add fractions if the bottom number is the same: 2/6+ 3/6 = 5/6 In other words, the bottom number stays the same and we just add the top numbers. Adding fractions where the bottom number is different cannot be done so the key is to make the bottom number on each fraction the same. This is where understanding equivalence in fractions is so important. 1/3 + 3/6 cannot be done because the bottom numbers are different. But 1/3 can be converted to 2/6 by multiplying both top and bottom numbers by 2. 1/3 and 2/6 are the same amounts. Now 2/6 and 3/6 can be added to make 5/6. Done! A word of caution: it is really important that children understand equivalent fractions before trying to add or subtract them. If they are shaky on this I would suggest going back to an earlier year’s fraction worksheets and going through them step by step. We have just separated our year 6 fractions worksheets into a new category as well as adding a whole new series of pages so why not take a look. The best of luck! Go to Year 6 fractions worksheets