Multiplying fractions – Year 6 maths lesson

For parents: how to use this lesson

You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, the way Mr Euclid, our Head of Maths, likes it: one tidy step at a time. Every answer is marked straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to mark anything.

1. Read what your child will learn together.
2. Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
3. 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.
4. Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “Why is 1/2 × 1/3 smaller than both fractions?”
5. Later that day or the next day: the homework (20 minutes), then a practice test.

Watch out for

• Adding instead of multiplying. Use the word "of": 1/2 of 1/3 – fold a third in half.
• Cross-multiplying (multiplying top by bottom). Point and say "top times top, bottom times bottom".
• Expecting the answer to be bigger. Fold paper: half of a third is a small piece.

Miss Hypatia's tip for home: Halve a recipe that uses 3/4 of a cup – what fraction do you need now?