This week, Year 5 began mastering the complex process of long multiplication. To build a strong foundation, we first revisited short multiplication (4 digits by 1 digit), using place value counters and repeated addition to visualize the concept. Once this was secured, the children successfully transitioned to the formal written method. Feeling confident, they progressed to multiplying 2-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers—initially using the grid method to see the products before moving on to the more abstract formal column method.