Fractions, decimals and percentages – Year 4 maths lesson
Lesson 20 of 31 in the Year 4 maths course
UK version. UK school years, UK spelling and pounds (£). · US Math Department
A complete 45-minute lesson for Year 4 (ages 8–9) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is marked straight away, with a worked explanation.
- Time
- 45 minutes + 20 min homework
- Year
- Year 4 (ages 8–9)
- You need
- Paper, a pencil and this page
- Marked
- Instantly, with explanations
For parents: how to use this lesson
You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, one tidy step at a time. Every answer is marked straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to mark anything.
- Read what your child will learn and the big ideas together.
- Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
- Let them do the practice on their own. They choose Getting started, On track or Challenge – start on On track and move up after a few right in a row.
- Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “Which is greater: 3/5, 0.58 or 61%? How did you decide?”
- Later that day or the next day: the homework (20 minutes), then a practice test.
Watch out for
- Writing 0.5 as 5%. Multiply by 100: 0.5 × 100 = 50, so 50%.
- Thinking 1/4 is 0.4. A fraction is a division: 1 ÷ 4 = 0.25.
Tip for home: Look for "50% off" or "1/3 extra free" on packets and say what they mean.
What your child will learn
We are learning to change between fractions, decimals and percentages.
Success looks like
- I know common equivalents such as 1/4 = 0.25 = 25%.
- I can convert between the three forms.
- I can compare amounts written in different forms.
Key words
- per cent
- out of 100
- equivalent
- worth the same
- denominator
- the bottom number of a fraction
- decimal
- a number with a decimal point
What to have ready
- Paper and a pencil
- This page on a computer, tablet or phone
- For the hands-on part: Shade a 100 square to show one amount, then write it as a fraction, a decimal and a percentage. No squared paper? Draw a 10 by 10 grid.
The big ideas (for the adult)
Fractions, decimals and percentages are three ways of writing the same amount: 1/2 = 0.5 = 50%.
Per cent means out of 100. To change a fraction to a percentage, make it out of 100: 3/20 = 15/100 = 15%.
To change a decimal to a percentage, multiply by 100: 0.35 = 35%. Divide by 100 to go back.
The lesson, step by step
| Part | Time | How it is checked |
|---|---|---|
| Starter: quick recall | 5 min | Marked by Classfern |
| Teaching input | 10 min | Not assessed, self-checked |
| Worked examples and guided practice | 9 min | Not assessed, marked by Classfern |
| Independent practice | 15 min | Marked by Classfern |
| Plenary and exit ticket | 6 min | Marked by Classfern, self-checked |
Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are marked by Classfern. Worked examples and teaching are not assessed. The hands-on task and the reflection are self-assessed. Explanations in talk are judged by the parent and not recorded.
The lesson
It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser.
Homework and practice at home
20 minutes: 10 practice questions, 3 multiple-choice questions and 2 to remember from earlier work, then a short reflection. New questions every time, all marked instantly.
More practice
More Year 4 maths lessons
- Place value: the value of each digit
- Rounding to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000
- One more, one less, ten more and ten less
- Number lines
- Comparing, ordering and writing numbers
- Roman numerals
- Column addition
- Column subtraction
- Times tables
- Short multiplication
- Multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1,000
- Multiplication and division
- Solving word problems
- Equivalent fractions
- Adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator
- Fractions of amounts
- Decimals: tenths, hundredths and thousandths
- Tenths and hundredths
- Rounding decimals
- Area of rectangles
- Perimeter
- Converting units of time
- Money: totals and change
- The 24-hour clock
- Types of angles and measuring angles
- Properties of 2-D shapes
- Lines of symmetry
- Coordinates
- Bar charts, pictograms and tables
- Line graphs
Curriculum
National Curriculum for England, Year 4: “recognise and write decimal equivalents of any number of tenths or hundreds”
National Curriculum for England, Year 4: “recognise and write decimal equivalents to [Fraction:1/4], [Fraction:1/2], [Fraction:3/4]”
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board.