Year 4 · Column methods and times tables
Two-step word problems
Solve addition and subtraction two-step problems in contexts, deciding which operations and methods to use and why
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Solve addition and subtraction two-step problems in contexts, deciding which operations and methods to use and why
Key learning points
- • Read, then plan
- • Words that hint at the operation
- • Mental, jotted or column?
- • Answer the actual question
This lesson at a glance
- 20 minutes
- 18 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- No marked quiz yet
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 18
Watch first
Two-step word problems
A catchy song that helps you learn your 8 times table fast.
Do it for real
The practicals below use what the film shows, with a full method you can follow at home.
In a nutshell
Solve addition and subtraction two-step problems in contexts, deciding which operations and methods to use and why
What you already know
Part 2 of 18
Before we start
What you already know
You can add and subtract four-digit numbers and estimate answers.
Key words
Part 3 of 18
Key words
Words you'll need today
- two-step
- A problem needing two calculations, one after the other.
- altogether
- A word that usually means add.
- how many more
- A phrase that usually means subtract.
Learning cycle
Part 4 of 18
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 — Finding the hidden step
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 18
Learn
Read, then plan
A shop had 1,450 stickers. It sold 320 on Saturday and 415 on Sunday. How many are left? Step one: 320 + 415 = 735 sold. Step two: 1,450 − 735 = 715 left. Writing 'sold = 735' on your page is what stops you losing track.
Explore the idea
Part 6 of 18
Learn
Words that hint at the operation
Altogether, total and combined usually mean add. Left, fewer and how many more usually mean subtract. But the words are hints, not rules — always picture what is happening before you choose.
Quick check
Part 7 of 18
Quick check
A tank held 2,000 ml. 350 ml then 480 ml were poured out. How much is left?
Reset break
Part 8 of 18
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 2 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 9 of 18
Quick check
Ben has 1,240 points and wins 360, then loses 150. He now has
Learning cycle
Part 10 of 18
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 — Choosing methods
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 11 of 18
Learn
Mental, jotted or column?
Choose the lightest method that works. 1,450 − 200 is mental. 735 + 415 can be jotted. 4,163 − 2,847 deserves a column method. Deciding this is part of the maths, not something to skip.
Explore the idea
Part 12 of 18
Learn
Answer the actual question
Finish by rereading the question and writing a sentence: '715 stickers are left.' Plenty of marks are lost by stopping after step one, or by giving the number sold when the question asked what was left.
Quick check
Part 13 of 18
Quick check
Which phrase usually means subtract?
Quick check
Part 14 of 18
Quick check
A class read 1,105 pages, another read 1,260. How many more did the second read?
Common mix-ups
Part 15 of 18
Common mix-ups
Things people often get wrong
- Doing only the first calculation and stopping.
- Adding all three numbers in the question because they are all there.
- Forgetting units, so the answer is just a bare number.
Challenge round
Part 16 of 18
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Mastery quiz
Part 17 of 18
No quiz for this one
This lesson has no marked quiz attached yet.
Lesson round-up
Part 18 of 18
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
Not sat
Games
Not played
Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaDo the work
Your written work for this lesson
This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.
The cost of a school trip
A school is planning a trip to a wildlife park. The coach costs £480 however many people go. Entry costs £9.50 for each pupil and each adult goes free. The school says every pupil must pay the same amount, and the trip must not lose money.
If 60 pupils go, the coach works out at £8 each, so the total for each pupil is £17.50. If only 40 pupils go, the coach works out at £12 each, so the price rises to £21.50. The teacher explains that the coach is a fixed cost and the entry is a cost per person — which is why the price per pupil changes when the number changes.
The school decides to charge £20 and to use anything left over for a second trip later in the year.
Written for Good Learning Co.
Reading questions
- Work out the total cost of the trip if 50 pupils go.
- Show why the price per pupil falls when more pupils go, using numbers.
- At £20 each, how many pupils must go before the trip makes money? Show your working.
Working out
Working outDo the practice questions on paper, showing every step — not just the answer. Mark them yourself and circle anything you got wrong.
10–15 questions
Worked example, explained
WritingCopy one question out and write underneath, in words, why each step works.
1 question, 4–5 sentences
Problem in words
Working outWrite your own real-life problem that uses today's method, then solve it.
1 problem + solution
Saved as you type.
Part 1 of 18 · Watch & discover