The note
How schools teach it now
Year 6 uses formal column methods: long multiplication (multiply by the ones, then by the tens with a placeholder zero, then add) and 'bus stop' short division, carrying remainders into the next digit. Long division may be set out in full or done as a bus stop with jottings.
5-minute kitchen-table activity
Use the shopping: 24 yoghurts at 37p each. Your child works out the total with long multiplication on an envelope (888p = £8.88), then checks it with an estimate: about 25 × 40p = £10.
Worked example
Work out 1,728 ÷ 12.
- Set it out as a bus stop: 12 outside, 1728 inside.
- 12 into 17 goes 1, remainder 5. Carry the 5 to make 52.
- 12 into 52 goes 4, remainder 4. Carry the 4 to make 48.
- 12 into 48 goes 4 exactly.
Answer: 144 (check: 144 × 12 = 1,728)
Common mistakes to watch for
- Forgetting the placeholder zero when multiplying by the tens digit.
- Losing a carried remainder in bus stop division.
- Not estimating first, so a wildly wrong answer goes unnoticed.
Encouragement
- Try saying
- “Let's estimate first so we know roughly what to expect.”
- Rather than
- “That's not how I learnt it. Do it my way.”