Math lesson plan · 6th grade (Year 7 in England) · 45 minutes
Express one amount as a percentage of another
Decimals and percentages
CCSS 6.RP.A.3.CEngland: KS3 NumberEngland: GCSE Foundation Ratio
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Express one amount as a percentage of another.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Change fractions and decimals into percentages
Leads to: the next skill in this area.
Materials: Place value chart with tenths and hundredths, Hundred squares, Number lines, Mini whiteboards and pens, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 5 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Change fractions and decimals into percentages). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Write 7/20 as a percentage. → 35Prompt: Make an equivalent fraction with denominator 100.
- Write 0.6 as a percentage. → 60Prompt: Percent means “out of 100”.
- Write 7/8 as a percentage. → 87.5Prompt: Divide 7 by 8 to get a decimal.
Hook · 5 min
- Show two prices or race times with decimals and ask which is bigger, then why.
- Share the objective: Express one amount as a percentage of another. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 10 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: What percentage of 50 is 17?
- Step 1: 17/50 × 100 = 34%
- Answer: 34
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 10 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- What percentage of 20 is 6? → 30Prompt: Write it as a fraction: 6/20.
- Hiro scores 15 out of 40 on a quiz. What is that as a percentage? → 37.5Prompt: How many times does 40 go into 100?
You do: independent practice · 10 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 5 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- What percentage of 25 is 23? → 92Prompt: Write it as a fraction: 23/25.
- 25 out of 40 songs on a playlist are by women artists. What percentage is that? (Give the exact value.) → 62.5Prompt: Divide 25 by 40.
Watch out for
- Thinking 0.45 is bigger than 0.5 because 45 is bigger than 5.
- Moving the digits the wrong way when multiplying or dividing by 10.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Change fractions and decimals into percentages.
- Use concrete materials: place value chart with tenths and hundredths.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/math/grade-6.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder