Connecting maths to real life
Represent real-world problems with number sentences, drawings or diagrams, and explain what the mathematical answer means in the story
What a learner can do afterwards
- Choose matching number sentences or stories and calculate amounts in one-step or two-step problems
- Choose or check a dot model and find the gap between two amounts
- Interpret chart quantities and check or choose answers with the unit and meaning the story needs
1 · Read
You have used objects and pictures to show stories. A number sentence records the maths with an equals sign. Use + to join amounts and - to take an amount away. Count objects to solve it. On a number line, count forward to add and backward to subtract.
To find the total cost, add both prices. Ravi buys a sticker for 6p and a pencil for 4p: 6 + 4 = 10. He spends 10 pence. If two things have the same price, add that price twice. Two pens costing 5p each cost 5 + 5 = 10 pence.
Each dot stands for one penny. Count both groups to find Ravi's total cost.
A ribbon is cut into two pieces, 9 cm and 6 cm long. Find its whole length by adding: 9 + 6 = 15. It was 15 centimetres long. The line starts at 0. Move forward 9 spaces, then 6 spaces. Each space stands for one centimetre.
A comparison drawing uses one dot for each object. For Sam's 4 stickers and Mia's 7, draw separate groups of 4 and 7 dots. Match 4 dots from each group. Mia has 3 extra: 7 - 4 = 3. The number line shows the gap from 4 to 7.
Read the name and number of each chart bar. To find which group has more, compare the numbers. On the same chart, a taller bar shows a greater amount. To find a total, add the amounts. For 2 books in week 1 and 5 in week 2, use 2 + 5 = 7. That means 7 books across both weeks.
Each bar shows one week's books. Add the two counts for the total.
Follow two changes in story order. A ribbon loses 6 cm, then 4 cm: 18 - 6 = 12, then 12 - 4 = 8 cm left. A jar loses 3 beads, then gains 2: 10 - 3 = 7, then 7 + 2 = 9 beads. For two purchases, add the prices, then subtract that cost from your money.
The first cut leaves 12 cm. Start the second cut at 12.
If the starting money is missing, add the money left and the money spent. After spending 3p with 5p left, you started with 5 + 3 = 8 pence. If the spending is missing, subtract what is left from the start. Starting with 9p and keeping 6p means you spent 9 - 6 = 3 pence. Check by subtracting the spending from the start.
Each dot stands for one penny. The 5 left and the 3 spent make the starting 8.
Explain what the result describes. For length, cm means centimetres and m means metres. For money, p means pence. A ribbon answer needs a length unit. Say '8 centimetres of ribbon left' or '10 pence spent'. The number, unit and story words tell someone what you found.
Turn the words into a number sentence, solve it, then say what your answer means in real life.
Lesson, questions and flashcards written for this dataset.
Readings, extra questions and flashcards written for this dataset.
More to read
Follow the changes
A jar holds 14 beads. Kim takes out 5 beads, then puts in 3. How many beads are in the jar now?
Draw 14 dots. Cross out 5 and count the 9 left. Add 3 dots to those 9. Now there are 12.
Write one number sentence for each change: 14 - 5 = 9, then 9 + 3 = 12. The first answer becomes the starting amount for the next change. Kim finishes with 12 beads.
Match two groups
Ivy has 3 toy cars. Ali has 8. Use one dot for each car. Draw a group of 3 dots for Ivy and a group of 8 for Ali.
Match Ivy's 3 dots with 3 of Ali's dots. Ali has 5 dots without a match. The drawing shows that Ali has 5 more cars.
The number sentence is 8 - 3 = 5. The answer counts extra cars, so say 'Ali has 5 more cars than Ivy.'
Money spent and money left
A card costs 3p and a stamp costs 6p. The letter p means pence. Add both prices: 3 + 6 = 9. Buying both costs 9 pence.
Nia starts with 15p and pays 9p. Take the cost from her money: 15 - 9 = 6. She has 6 pence left.
The answers have different jobs. '9 pence spent' names the cost. '6 pence left' names the money Nia keeps.
Check what your answer means
A ribbon is 17 cm long at the start. A 7 cm piece is cut off. How many centimetres of ribbon are left? The number sentence is 17 - 7 = 10.
Read the question again: it asks for the ribbon left. The answer is 10 centimetres of ribbon left. It is not the starting length or the piece cut off.
Check the unit too. The story measures length in centimetres, so a money unit such as pence would not fit. The words after the number explain what you found.
2 · Watch
En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Optional connections
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Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
18 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.