Exploring the Power of the Decimal Point
This week, Year 5 have ventured into the fascinating world of decimals, marking the start of an important new unit where we will discover the intricate links between decimals, fractions, and percentages.

To ensure the children have a deep understanding of these concepts rather than just learning a method, we began by using concrete manipulatives. Using decimal place value counters and formal place value grids, the pupils worked to represent numbers with up to two decimal places.

By physically placing counters into the 'ones', 'tenths', and 'hundredths' columns, the children were able to clearly see the value of each digit. This hands-on approach is vital for helping pupils understand that while a digit may look the same, its position relative to the decimal point completely changes its worth.

Once the children were confident in representing these values, they moved on to partitioning. They manipulated the counters to show that a number like 0.45 is not just a single value, but is composed of four tenths and five hundredths. This ability to break down and rebuild numbers provides a solid foundation for more complex calculations.

The engagement in the classroom was excellent, and it was wonderful to hear the children using precise mathematical vocabulary to explain their thinking. We look forward to seeing them apply this newfound confidence as we begin to link these decimals to their fractional equivalents!