Square and cube numbers – Year 5 maths lesson
Lesson 18 of 39 in the Year 5 maths course
UK version. UK school years, UK spelling and pounds (£). · US Math Department
A complete 45-minute lesson for Year 5 (ages 9–10) 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 5 (ages 9–10)
- 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: “Why are they called square and cube numbers?”
- Later that day or the next day: the homework (20 minutes), then a practice test.
Watch out for
- Thinking 5² means 5 × 2. The small 2 means two fives multiplied: 5 × 5.
- Thinking 2³ is 6. Write it out: 2 × 2 × 2 = 8.
Tip for home: Find square numbers in tiles or chessboards (64 squares!).
What your child will learn
We are learning to recognise square and cube numbers and use the notation ² and ³.
Success looks like
- I can recognise square numbers.
- I can recognise cube numbers.
- I can use ² and ³.
Key words
- square number
- a number times itself
- cube number
- a number times itself three times
- squared
- the small ² sign
- cubed
- the small ³ sign
What to have ready
- Paper and a pencil
- This page on a computer, tablet or phone
- For the hands-on part: Build squares and cubes with cubes, sugar lumps or counters, and count how many you used. No counters? Draw squares on squared paper.
The big ideas (for the adult)
A square number is a number times itself: 5 × 5 = 25, written 5². Square numbers make square arrays.
A cube number is a number times itself three times: 3 × 3 × 3 = 27, written 3³. Cube numbers make cubes from small cubes.
Learn the squares up to 12² = 144 and the cubes up to 5³ = 125.
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 5 maths lessons
- Place value: the value of each digit
- Rounding to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000
- Negative numbers
- Counting in 2s, 5s and 10s
- Comparing, ordering and writing numbers
- Negative numbers and temperature
- Roman numerals
- Column addition
- Column subtraction
- Short multiplication
- Long multiplication
- Short division
- Multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1,000
- Factors and multiples
- Prime numbers
- Estimating and checking answers
- Solving word problems
- Equivalent fractions
- Fractions of amounts
- Adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators
- Decimals: tenths, hundredths and thousandths
- Percentages of amounts
- Decimals and percentages
- Rounding decimals
- Adding and subtracting decimals
- Fractions, decimals and percentages
- Comparing and simplifying fractions
- Area of rectangles
- Perimeter
- Converting units of time
- Converting units of measure
- Volume of cuboids
- Missing angles
- Types of angles and measuring angles
- Coordinates
- Bar charts, pictograms and tables
- Reading timetables
- Line graphs
Curriculum
National Curriculum for England, Year 5: “recognise and use square numbers and cube numbers, and the notation for squared (²) and cubed (³)”
National Curriculum for England, Year 5: “solve problems involving multiplication and division, including using their knowledge of factors and multiples, squares and cubes”
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.