Percentages of amounts

Hi all,

I hope you're having a lovely half term so far- I know I've been incredibly busy, catching up with friends and family but before we broke off I had a few requests for some activities for the blog so, here we are...

The first topic I want to go over with you is percentages- they can be a little daunting but in actual fact they're quite simple so keep reading to find out more!

Calculating a percentage of an amount 

So, I always find it useful to clarify what 'percent' means first of all. 'Per' means out of or every (e.g. I eat 3 meals per day) and 'cent' means 100 (e.g. there are 100 years in a century). 

So when we are looking for 15%, what we are actually saying is  we want 15 out of 100. This video from Khan Academy might also help you to understand this a little better, just click the image and it should take you where you need to go to watch it.

Now, I always find it useful to be able to find 1% and 10% as these are really useful percentages to help you figure out any other percent.

So, to find 1%, all you have to do is divide the amount you have by 100! When we divide a number, it gets reduced, so all the digits will move to the right. When dividing by 100 we move the digits 2 places to the right (think of the 2 zeros in the number 100 to help you remember that).

e.g. 

• 1% of 200 = 2
• 1% of 8000 = 80
• 1% of 450 = 4.5

Notice that the answer doesn't have to be a whole number; it can be a decimal too!

Try these:

• 1% of 890 =
• 1% of 1000 = 
• 1% of 3567 =
• 1% of 780367 =

Next let's look at finding 10%. To do this, you divide the amount you start with by 10. When we divide a number, it gets reduced, so all the digits will move to the right. When dividing by 10 we move the digits 1 place to the right (think of the 1 zero in the number 10 to help you remember that).

e.g. 

• 10% of 200 = 20
• 10% of 8000 = 800
• 10% of 450 = 45

Try these:

• 10% of 890 =
• 10% of 1000 = 
• 10% of 3567 =
• 10% of 780367 =

So what do you do if you are asked to calculate 23% of an amount for example?

Easy... Let's use this as an example...

What is 23% of 200?

From the calculations we did above, we already know that 1% of 200 is 2 and 10% of 200 is 20. 

I find it easiest to partition fractions down, so rather than finding 23%, I will calculate 20% and 3% and add them together...

• Because I know that 10% of 200 is 20, then 20% is double that so 20% = 20 x 2 = 40.
• Because I know that 1% of 200 is 2, then 3% is 3 times as much so 3% = 2 x 3 = 6.
• Now I just add them together:

40 + 6 = 46

Let's try another...

What is 57% of 200?

So again I am going to partition 57% in to 50% and 7%

• Because I know that 10% of 200 is 20, then 50% is 5 times as much, so 50% = 20 x 5 = 100.

Now to tackle the 7%... There are 2 possible ways to do this:

I could use my knowledge of 1% and multiply this by 7

• Because I know that 1% of 200 is 2, then 7% is 7 times as much so 7% = 2 x 7 = 14

Or- I could partition 7% in to 5% and 2%

• Because I know that 10% of 200 is 20, then 5% is half as much, so 5% = 20 divided by 2 = 10
• Because I know that 1% of 200 is 2, then 2% is 2 times as much so 2% = 2 x 2 = 4
• Now I can add the 5% (10) and 2%  (4) together to get 7% (14)

Finally, to find 57% I simply add the 50% (100) to the 7% (14) to get 57%:

100 + 14 = 114

Now have a go at calculating the following percentages of amounts:

• 12% of 8000
• 34% of 450
• 75% of 200
• 63% of 450
• 48% of 8000
• 71% of 200

Maths practise... Written multiplication

This week we will be looking at our method (and application of) written multiplication calculations.

To help you get ahead, click the pictures below and take a look at the videos. Start with the top one and then move on to the second.

If you have any questions, leave me a message or speak to me in school.

Class attendance: 13th October 2017

This week’s attendance in 6SB was:

93.2%

Unfortunately this is below our target of 96%. Please try to be in school and on time every day as it adds up surprisingly quickly when you are missing lessons; across the week it could equate to missing entire lessons!

Comment below if you have any tips that help you get to school on time, ready to learn and let us know if we can do anything to help.

Thanks,

Miss Barrell

Maths homework: 13th October 2017

This 4 by 4 grid is divided into two identical shapes.

Each shape has the same area.

How many more ways can you find of dividing the grid into two identical shapes by colouring the squares two different colours

Think about these questions as you are doing it:

Q. How do you know if two parts are identical?

Q. How are you finding different solutions? Do you have a system?

Challenge:

Would you be able to do this with a 5 × 5 square?

Explain your answer. (The grid needs to have even number of rows and columns to avoid half squares.)

Picasso portraits...

This is just a small selection of the work that has been produced so far for the art project we have been doing this half term. Inspired by Picasso’s work, children have used photographs to cut up and rearrange to make a more abstract composition before recreating it.

Leave us a comment below if you spot your work or tell us what you think and keep your eyes peeled for the full gallery going up around school very soon!

Miss Barrell x

Times tables: 8s

Next week we will be focussing on our 8 times tables and will be tested on these on Friday.

We have tried different ways of learning them in school now and it doesn't have to be boring- we did a basketball relay and last week we managed to recall the full 7x tables (up to the 12th multiple) in less than 30 seconds and we had a blast in the process!

To help you with your 8x tables this week I've found a song you might want to try... Click the pic to take a listen! Perhaps you can come up with a song of your own to share with the class...

If you have any other fun ways to learn your times tables, comment below!

Merit winner: 13th October 2017

Congratulations for getting the merit certificate today go out to:

Jamie W.

for being the undisputed King of diplomacy! With input from the whole class, Jamie has been recognised for being a calming influence and a peace keeper on the playground to ensure games run smoothly. A good friend and a pretty fantastic role model all-round- what more could we ask for? Well done Jamie!




Miss Barrell x

Reading: Skill pre-load

We have already discussed the art of retrieval questions, but they aren't always as straightforward as they seem...
Sometimes, often even, the questions set will try to get you thinking. Instead of matching the wording of the question to the text they will use a synonym- a different word with the same meaning... Sneaky!


So let's look at a little snippet of text to help us with this:


Fuelled by rage and revenge, Anders Arnfield stood in front of the giant gates of Pengreg Hall and raised his sword to face the snarling creature ahead. In front of him and for miles beyond lay the ruins of the ancient Gunders Wood, smouldering in ashes as the once tall trees lay forlorn on the forest floor. Behind the great house, over his shoulder, he could sense the path to freedom but he was determined not to take the easy way out.


It would be much easier to answer a question like, What lay in front of Anders? because the exact words 'In front of' are in the text and the question which makes finding the answer a doddle!


If I asked you, 'What was to the rear of Pengreg Hall?' you would have to think much more carefully. To be successful at answering this question, you would need to understand that 'to the rear of' means 'behind' and then it becomes much simpler because we can find the word 'behind' in the text. Of course, the answer is: 'the path to freedom'.


Have a go at the following questions (based on 'The Dual World of Anders Arnfield') to practise this skill ahead of next week! 
TIP- If you're struggling, you may wish to enlist the help of a thesaurus to begin with! 

1. What was Anders Arnfield’s incentive for killing the creature?
2. What was he determined not to do?
3. Whose duty was it to overcome the beast?
4. What was he trying to figure out?
5. What did Anders not have time to consider?

Answers on a postcard (or any piece of paper) for pennies!

 

The Dual World of Anders Arnfield... RETRIEVAL

Recently we have been looking at 'retrieval' answers in our guided reading. We want to be able to locate answers quickly and efficiently so we are not constantly reading and re-reading the same passages of text. 
To help us do this, we have practiced picking out key words in the question and skimming and scanning the text for those words before reading around them to try and find the answer.


Example:


Where was Anders stood? The question is about the main character, Anders, and where he is standing so the key words I would look for are 'Anders' and 'stood' or words that are very closely linked.
My answer would be: in front of the giant gates of Pengreg Hall.

With these questions you can literally copy the answers from the text- easy!

Read the text below before having a go at the questions at the end. Bring your answers in next week and if you get them right you get a penny!

Fuelled by rage and revenge, Anders Arnfield stood in front of the giant gates of Pengreg Hall and raised his sword to face the snarling creature ahead. In front of him and for miles beyond lay the ruins of the ancient Gunders Wood, smouldering in ashes as the once tall trees lay forlorn on the forest floor. Behind the great house, over his shoulder, he could sense the path to freedom but he was determined not to take the easy way out.

There was no doubt in Anders’ mind that the creature bearing down on him was the same Klingenot he had encountered in his previous dreams; a creature he had so often doubted could be real. It sure looked real right now as he found himself not only the prey to this huge four-legged beast, but with the sole responsibility to defeat it. Over many months, he had become used to the dual worlds that he had gradually found himself living in: by night, the strange and mysterious happenings of Gunders Wood, overlooked by the marvellous Pengreg Hall; by day trying to fathom how those happenings linked and influenced his ordinary schoolboy life.

Casting his mind back two years, the young boy thought of the precious box given to him by his late grandmother before she returned to Norway. How he wished she had still been alive to answer his millions of questions. Was there a vital clue in the box that he was missing right now? Every part of the contents had turned out to be a clue to something or other. Some days he cursed the gift that his grandmother had given him: not the gift of the box though; the gift she had passed down in some other way. As often as he may curse it however, he couldn’t imagine life any different to the way it had become.

Unfortunately, he had little time to ponder the many burning questions. All that imminently mattered was how to hold off the baying beast ahead. With its arched stegosaurus-like spine and flaring dragon-like nostrils, the Klingenot was close enough for Anders to smell its stale breath.


1) What lay in front of Anders?
2) Where was the path to freedom?
3) What was the creature bearing down on Anders?
4) What was Anders responsible for?
5) Where did Anders find himself living?
6) Where was Anders' grandmother from?
7) What did the baying beast look like?

Good luck!

Spelling practise...

What words do you need to learn?

Use the grid to help you… When you add the suffix, does it make a real word? If yes, apply the rule, write it and learn it; if not then don’t bother!

We have done a couple for you to show you what we mean.