Mini Minds Hub · Free printable
Decimal Bonds Arcade: Free Printable Worksheet for Year 5
- ForYear 5
- StageKey Stage 2
- CostFree
- FormatPrintable PDF
Decimal Bonds Arcade is a free printable maths worksheet for Year 5 (ages 9 to 10). Children find the missing number to power up each level. They start with tenths, move on to hundredths, then meet bonds to 5 and a boss level. Page 2 gives the grown-up notes, help, a stretch idea and the answers.
It comes from the Mini Minds Hub, the free library of printables from Jaques of London, the British games and toy company that has been making games for families since 1795. Print both pages, give page 1 to your child and keep page 2 for yourself. Black and white printing works well.
What is on the sheet
The sheet is laid out like an arcade game. Each level has a decimal and a missing number, such as a decimal plus a question mark that makes a whole number. Level 1 uses tenths. Level 2 uses hundredths. Level 3 makes bonds to 5. The boss level ends the game. Children write the missing decimal on the line, then add it back to the first number to check.
- Level 1 (tenths): 0.3 + ? = 1
- Level 1 (tenths): 0.8 + ? = 1
- Level 2 (hundredths): 0.65 + ? = 1
- Level 2 (hundredths): 0.04 + ? = 1
- Level 3 (bonds to 5): 3.2 + ? = 5
- Level 3 (bonds to 5): 3.6 + ? = 5
- Boss level: 4.75 + ? = 5
A worked example
0.58 + ? = 1
This is a different question from the ones on the sheet. It shows two ways to think about a decimal bond to 1.
Method 1: use a hundred square- Picture a hundred square. It has 100 small squares and stands for 1.
- 0.58 means 58 squares are shaded.
- Count how many are not shaded: 100 take away 58 is 42.
- 42 squares out of 100 is 0.42.
- Start at 0.58. Count up to 0.6. That needs 0.02.
- Now count from 0.6 up to 1. That needs 0.4.
- Put the steps together: 0.02 and 0.4 make 0.42.
Ways to see a decimal bond
Tenths bar
Draw a bar and split it into ten equal parts. Shade the part you know. The parts left unshaded show what is missing.
Hundred square
Use a hundred square when the decimal has hundredths. Each small square is one hundredth, so children can see the whole and the part.
Count up to the next whole number
Start at the decimal and count up to the next whole number. Then count on to the target. Add the two jumps together.
Add it back
Always add the missing number to the first number. If the total is the target, the answer is right.
What is a decimal bond?
A number bond is a pair of numbers that make a given total. Children know bonds to 10 and 100 from whole numbers. Decimal bonds use the same idea. Decimals write parts of a whole using place value. The first place after the decimal point shows tenths. The second shows hundredths.
Decimal bonds turn up in everyday life. Money in pounds and pence is a hundredths idea, because there are 100 pence in a pound. Working out change is a bond in disguise. Lengths in metres and weights in kilograms also use decimals. Fluent bonds make all of this quicker and less worrying.
Skills and curriculum link
- Decimal bonds to 1
- Decimal bonds to 5
- Tenths and hundredths
- Place value
- Checking by adding back
Ideas to help your child
- Place valueThe first digit after the decimal point is tenths. The second is hundredths. Reading each digit by its place stops mix ups.
- Whole numbers helpA bond to 5 can be split into a whole number part and a decimal part. Children can deal with each part separately.
- InverseAdding and taking away undo each other. A missing number can be found by taking the known number away from the total.
- Estimate firstAsk whether the missing number should be big or small. A quick guess helps children spot answers that cannot be right.
Key words
- Decimal pointThe dot that separates whole numbers from parts of a whole.
- TenthOne of ten equal parts of a whole. It is written 0.1.
- HundredthOne of one hundred equal parts of a whole. It is written 0.01.
- Number bondTwo numbers that add together to make a chosen total.
- Place valueThe value a digit has because of where it sits in a number.
- Missing numberThe number you have to find to make a number sentence true.
How to use it
- Print both pages. Page 1 is for your child. Keep page 2, which has the notes and answers.
- Read the first level together. Ask your child what the question mark stands for.
- Let them choose how to work. A tenths bar, a hundred square or counting up all work well.
- Write the missing decimal on the line. Then add it back to the first number to check.
- Check with page 2, then come back another day. Repeating a familiar sheet builds confidence.
Help, stretch and game ideas
If it feels too hard
Draw a tenths bar or a hundred square. Shade the part you know and look at what is left to reach 1. Try the tenths level first. Move on to hundredths when those feel easy. Say each decimal aloud as you work.
To stretch confident children
Write your own bonds to 10 with one decimal place, such as 6.4 + ? = 10. Swap with a friend and solve each other's. Then try some with two decimal places and see whether they are harder.
Make it a game
Race a partner. One person reads a bond aloud, such as a decimal plus a missing number to make 1. The other has five seconds to answer. A correct answer earns a point. Swap roles after each round.
Mistakes to watch for
Watch forA child answers 0.6 for 0.42 + ? = 1. They found the tenths bond and ignored the hundredths.
Try thisCount up in two steps. Go from 0.42 to 0.5, then on to 1. Or shade 42 squares on a hundred square and count what is left.
Watch forFor 2.7 + ? = 5, a child writes 3.3. They made 2 and 3 into 5 and 7 and 3 into 10 separately.
Try thisCount up to the next whole number first. 2.7 to 3 is 0.3. Then 3 to 5 is 2. Add the jumps: 2.3.
Watch forA child reads 0.06 as if it were 0.6 and gives the wrong bond.
Try thisWrite the digits in a place value grid with tenths and hundredths columns. Say each number aloud with its place name.
Talk about it
- How did you know how much was left to reach 1?
- What does the second digit after the decimal point tell you?
- Can you show the answer on a tenths bar or a hundred square?
- How did you check that your answer was right?
- What is different about bonds to 5 compared with bonds to 1?
- Where might you use decimals in real life?
Take it off the page
Shop change
Set up a pretend shop with prices in pounds and pence. Take turns paying with £1 and working out the change.
Draw a hundred square
Draw a hundred square on squared paper. Shade a decimal and ask a grown-up to say how much is left to make 1.
Number line walk
Chalk a number line from 0 to 1 outdoors. Mark tenths. Stand on a decimal and jump to 1, saying how far you jumped.
Who it is for
Parents
Sit with your child for the first level, then let them lead. Ask them to explain how they found each answer. Praise careful thinking and checking, not only correct answers.
Teachers
Use it as a starter, plenary, early finisher task or homework. Page 2 gives support and stretch ideas for mixed ability groups. It needs no preparation beyond printing.
Home educators
Use it alongside everyday talk about money and measuring. It can be printed again for brothers and sisters, or for revision a few weeks later.
Where this fits
Before this, children learn tenths and hundredths as fractions and as decimals. They practise whole number bonds to 10 and 100. Seeing how these link to decimals makes bonds feel familiar rather than new.
After this, children add and subtract decimals with different numbers of places. They also use decimals in money and measures. Secure decimal bonds make written methods much easier.
Questions parents and teachers ask
- What age is Decimal Bonds Arcade for?
It is written for Year 5 (ages 9 to 10), in Key Stage 2. Younger children who know tenths may enjoy the first level. Older children can use it as quick revision.
- What will children practise?
They practise finding decimal bonds to 1 and to 5, using tenths and hundredths. It sits in the fractions (including decimals) strand of the National Curriculum for England.
- How do I use it?
Children work alone or in pairs. They write the missing decimal on each line, then add it back to the first number to check. Work through the first level together before they try alone.
- What if it feels too hard?
Draw a tenths bar or a hundred square to see how much is left to reach 1. Start with the tenths level and move on when your child feels confident.
- Is it free?
Yes. It is free to print for home and classroom use. You can print it again for brothers, sisters or revision.
- Is this a screen free activity?
Yes. It needs only paper and a pencil, so it works well for quiet time, rainy days and school holidays.
- Do I need to print in colour?
No. It prints well in black and white on plain A4 paper. Print both pages and keep page 2 for the grown-up.
Preview the full PDF
Made by Jaques of London, making games for families since 1795. A printable supports classroom learning and does not replace a teacher.