Smart Charts
Class 5 · Mathematics
4 ideas in Class 5 Mathematics, explained in plain words, with games and quizzes to practise.
Tally Marks
Part of: Counting with tally marks
Tally marks are a quick way to count things as you see them. You draw one line for each item, and every fifth line is drawn across the four before it to make a bundle of five. For example, 3 bundles and 2 lines show 17.
Why it matters. When we count moving or changing things, like vehicles on a road, writing digits is slow. Tally marks let a child record and count correctly without losing track.
Try it in two minutes
- Sit near a window or balcony for two minutes with a pen and paper.
- Ask your child to make a tally mark for every bird, car or person that passes.
- Count the bundles together by fives and then add the extra lines.
- Ask: which did we see the most?
Try at home. Ask your child to tally how many times the doorbell or phone rings in one evening and tell you the total.
Reading Tables and Bar Charts
Part of: Reading tables and charts
A table lists items next to their numbers, and a bar chart shows the same numbers as bars, where a taller bar means a bigger number. Reading them means finding the biggest, the smallest, the total and the difference. For example, if mango has 18 votes and apple has 9, mango has 9 more.
Why it matters. Tables and charts appear in newspapers, weather reports and school reports. A child who can read them can answer questions quickly and notice what the numbers are telling us.
Try it in two minutes
- Ask your child to name five fruits and ask each family member to pick a favourite.
- Write the votes in a small table.
- Ask: which fruit won? How many people voted in all? How many more chose the winner than the last one?
- Draw a bar for each fruit using squares on notebook paper.
Try at home. Look up the temperature of three cities in a newspaper or on TV and draw a bar chart together.
Growth Patterns and Estimation
Part of: Patterns of growth
Some things grow very fast at first and then slow down. A table or chart of numbers helps us spot the pattern, such as doubling, and guess what comes next. For example, if 3 insects double every day, the numbers are 3, 6, 12, 24, 48.
Why it matters. Guessing sensibly, called estimating, is a useful skill. It helps children check whether an answer makes sense and understand how plants, animals and savings change over time.
Try it in two minutes
- Take a sheet of paper and ask your child to guess how many layers there are after folding it once, twice and three times.
- Write the numbers 1, 2, 4, 8 in a row.
- Ask: what comes next? Is each number double the one before?
- Ask your child to guess how tall a small plant at home will be next week and check later.
Try at home. Measure a plant at home once every few days, note the heights in a table and see if the growth speeds up or slows down.
Doubling in a Family Tree
Part of: Patterns of growth
A family tree is a drawing that shows a person's parents, grandparents and older family members in rows called generations. Each person has two parents, so the number of people doubles with every step back: 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents.
Why it matters. Making a tree links maths to a child's own family. It shows how doubling works and helps children understand how long and wide a family history can be.
Try it in two minutes
- Draw your child at the bottom of a sheet of paper.
- Add the parents above, then the grandparents. Ask: how many boxes do we need?
- Ask the child to predict the number of boxes for the great-grandparents before drawing them.
- Ask a grandparent to tell a short story about one person in the tree.
Try at home. Ask your child to fill in names as far back as the family knows and count the people in each row.
What your child will practise
- Doubling in a Family Tree: Desert Puzzle (Clue Puzzle)
- Growth Patterns and Estimation: Space Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Reading Tables and Bar Charts: Mission Control Quest (Collect the Answer)
- Tally Marks: Number Quest (Collect the Answer)
- Tally Marks: Ocean Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Quiz: Doubling in a Family Tree (8 questions)
- Quiz: Growth Patterns and Estimation (8 questions)
- Quiz: Reading Tables and Bar Charts (8 questions)
- Quiz: Tally Marks (8 questions)