Math lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 45 minutes
Primes, squares and cubes
Number sense
CCSS 6.EE.A.1England: Y5 Multiplication and divisionEngland: Y6 Number
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Primes, squares and cubes.
- 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: Factors, multiples, primes
Leads to: Prime factorisation; Whole-number exponents; Square roots and cube roots
Materials: Place value chart, Base-ten blocks or a number line, Mini whiteboards and pens, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 5 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Factors, multiples, primes). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which number is a factor of 63? (8 / 12 / 3 / 11) → 3Prompt: A factor divides the number exactly, with no remainder.
- Is 14 prime or composite? (Prime / Composite) → CompositePrompt: A prime number has exactly two factors: 1 and itself.
- What is the 10th multiple of 7? (The 1st multiple is 7.) → 70Prompt: Multiples of 7: 7, 14, 21, …
Hook · 5 min
- Show a number in the news or a price tag and ask what each digit is worth.
- Share the objective: Primes, squares and cubes. 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: 8² = ?
- Step 1: 8 × 8 = 64
- Answer: 64
- 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.
- 3³ = ? → 27Prompt: Cubed means three copies of the number multiplied together.
- Which of these is a prime number: 25, 49, 55, 61? (25 / 61 / 55 / 49) → 61Prompt: A prime has exactly two factors, 1 and itself.
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.
- Which of these is a prime number: 15, 27, 63, 79? (15 / 27 / 79 / 63) → 79Prompt: A prime has exactly two factors, 1 and itself.
- Which square number lies between 13 and 19? → 16Prompt: Square numbers are 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, …
Watch out for
- Reading 1,045 as one thousand four hundred five: point to each place and say its value.
- Thinking a longer number is always bigger, even with decimals (0.45 vs 0.5).
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Factors, multiples, primes.
- Use concrete materials: place value chart.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Prime factorisation; Whole-number exponents; Square roots and cube roots.
- 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-5.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder