The Four Operations

National Curriculum (England): Key Stage 2 SATs · Year 6 · KS2 SATs (primary)

8 ready-made resources for teaching The Four Operations, written for Year 6 Maths (KS2 SATs). Slides, worksheets, mark schemes, homework, an assessment and retrieval quizzes, all with SEN-friendly scaffolding built in as standard. Below is what the topic requires and where pupils usually go wrong, free to read whether or not you sign up.

Independently rechecked. These files were written to the specification from our own topic maps, then put through a separate recheck pass from the one that wrote them, which found and fixed real errors. A subject teacher has not signed them off individually, so give them your usual read before you teach from them.

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What is in this bundle

Assessment mark schemeWord, editable
End-of-topic assessmentWord, editable
HomeworkWord, editable
Retrieval-practice quizzesWord, editable
SlidesPowerPoint, editable
Starter & exit ticketWord, editable
WorksheetWord, editable
Worksheet mark schemeWord, editable

What pupils need to be able to do

Multiply numbers of up to 4 digits by a 2-digit number, using the formal written method of long multiplication.
Divide numbers of up to 4 digits by a 2-digit number, using the formal written method of long division, interpreting any remainder as a whole-number remainder, as a fraction, or by rounding, depending on what the question context actually requires.
Divide numbers of up to 4 digits by a 2-digit number using short division where that's the appropriate method, again interpreting the remainder correctly for context.
Perform mental calculations, including ones that mix operations and involve large numbers.
Identify common factors, common multiples, and prime numbers of given numbers.
Use knowledge of the order of operations (including brackets) to carry out calculations correctly involving more than one operation.
Solve multi-step addition and subtraction problems in context, deciding which operations and methods are actually needed.
Solve problems that involve any combination of the four operations.
Use estimation to check whether a calculated answer is sensible, and judge an appropriate degree of accuracy for the context of a problem.

Where pupils go wrong

Misaligning place value columns during long multiplication or long division, leading to a plausible-looking but wrong answer.
Interpreting a division remainder in a way that doesn't match the context: e.g. rounding down when the problem actually needs rounding up (a classic "how many coaches are needed" style error), or leaving a whole-number remainder when the problem calls for a fraction or decimal.
Applying the order of operations incorrectly, especially forgetting that operations inside brackets must be done first regardless of their type.
Confusing a factor of a number with a multiple of it.
Treating 1 as a prime number, or forgetting that 2 is the only even prime number.
Trusting a calculated answer without estimating first, and so not noticing an answer that's out by a factor of 10 due to a place-value slip.

How it gets asked in the exam

Paper 1 (arithmetic) style: "3,847 × 26 =", "5,192 ÷ 34 =", "Work out 6 + 3 × (8 - 2)".
Papers 2–3 (reasoning) style: "A coach holds 48 passengers. How many coaches are needed for 350 people?" (remainder interpretation in context), "Use the digits 2, 5, 7 and 9 to make the calculation with the largest possible answer."

Key vocabulary

Long multiplication, long division, short division, remainder, common factor, common multiple, prime number, order of operations, brackets, estimate.

Assumed prior knowledge (Year 5)

Multiplying numbers up to 4 digits by a 1-digit or 2-digit number using a formal written method, including long multiplication for 2-digit multipliers: this is already secure by the end of Year 5; Year 6 doesn't introduce long multiplication itself as new, it consolidates and applies it.
Dividing numbers up to 4 digits by a 1-digit number, interpreting remainders appropriately.
Confident recall of multiplication and division facts (times tables) up to 12 × 12: secure since Year 4, maintained rather than newly taught in Year 5 or 6.

How Speca scaffolds this topic

A consistent, gridded layout for long multiplication and long division working, with place-value columns pre-labelled, so alignment errors are visually prevented rather than only checked for afterward.
A remainder-interpretation decision aid ("does this problem need a whole number left over, a fraction, a decimal, or should I round up/down?") applied explicitly every time a division question has a context, not just for the "obviously tricky" ones.
An "estimate first" habit built into every worked example as a genuine first step, not an afterthought check: write the estimate, then the full calculation, then compare.

Every file, free to start

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