Step 2 Objective

Develop and refine written methods for column addition and subtraction for two whole numbers less then 1000, and addition of more than two such numbers.


What if pupils find this a barrier?

It can be helpful to give pupils some worked examples to mark and to identify mistakes.

At this stage pupils may have a variety of written methods;- ask them to compare methods and discuss which are more efficient.

Pupils may need to work towards column addition by using partial sums, e.g. 287 + 45:

287 + 45 = (200 + 80 + 7) + (40 + 5) = 332  

See the other methods in FTM(P)Y456 p. 48 - Acrobat pdf document (34Kb) and FTM(P)Y456 p. 50 - Acrobat pdf document (31Kb).

It is important to build on pupils' mental strategies, so keep to informal written methods with pupils explaining what they are doing.

For guidance on addition and subtraction refer to the document 'The National Numeracy Strategy: Teaching written calculations – guidance for teachers at key stages 1 and 2' (QCA/99/486) pp. 25-33.