Headteacher: Mrs J Boylan
In Year 6, your child will start learning about algebra. They will use simple formulae, will describe number sequences using letters as symbols, and will find unknowns in an equation.
There are lots of everyday ways you can help your child to understand algebra. Here are just a few ideas.
Your child will have solved lots of problems involving missing numbers at school. Before Year 6, the unknown number in a calculation will have been represented using a blank box or a question mark. This will now be replaced by a letter, like a or b. This letter represents the unknown number, also known as the variable.
There are lots of ways you could help your child solve problems where there are one or more variables. For instance, why not play number puzzles such as the one below?
Each shape has a different value. The total value of the shapes in each column and row is shown at the end of the column or row. See if your child can work out the value of each shape and then work out the missing totals.
Below are a few steps you can take to help your child get to know linear sequences:
Because the number in the sequence is always the term multiplied by 3, this sequence can be written as the algebraic rule 3n.