Ratio and proportion – Year 6 maths lesson

Lesson 30 of 32 in the Year 6 maths course

UK version. UK school years, UK spelling and pounds (£). · US Math Department

A complete 45-minute lesson for Year 6 (ages 10–11) 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 6 (ages 10–11)
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: “If a recipe for 4 people uses 6 eggs, how many for 6 people? How did you work it out?”
Later that day or the next day: the homework (20 minutes), then a practice test.

Watch out for

Adding instead of multiplying when scaling (2 : 3 becomes 4 : 5). Use a table: double both parts.
Mixing up ratio and fraction (2 : 3 is not 2/3 of the whole). Draw it: 2 red and 3 blue is 5 in all, so red is 2/5.

Tip for home: Change a recipe for more or fewer people together.

What your child will learn

We are learning to solve problems with ratio, scaling and scale factors.

Success looks like

I can write a ratio.
I can scale amounts up and down.
I can use a scale factor.

Key words

ratio: compares parts with parts
proportion: compares a part with the whole
scale: make bigger or smaller by multiplying
scale factor: the number every length is multiplied by

What to have ready

Paper and a pencil
This page on a computer, tablet or phone
For the hands-on part: Make a drink or paint mixture in a ratio such as 1 : 4, then make double the amount.

The big ideas (for the adult)

A ratio compares two amounts: 2 : 3 means for every 2 of one thing there are 3 of the other.

To scale a recipe or an amount up or down, multiply or divide every part by the same number.

A scale factor says how many times bigger a shape is: with scale factor 3, every length is 3 times longer.

The lesson, step by step

45 minutes in 5 parts
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

Year 6 ratio and proportion testMarked instantly

All Year 6 maths lessons and tests · Maths Department

Curriculum

National Curriculum for England, Year 6: “solve problems involving the relative sizes of 2 quantities where missing values can be found by using integer multiplication and division facts”

National Curriculum for England, Year 6: “solve problems involving unequal sharing and grouping using knowledge of fractions and multiples”

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.