Blog

Classroom ideas and teaching tips from Ms Alami.

9 October 2026

Teaching Fractions in Years 5–6: Number Lines, Equivalence and Fractions of Quantities

What NSW Stage 3 fractions really include (and what's Stage 4), with number line and tape diagram activities and the mistakes students make most.

5 maths topics

9 October 2026

Our Maths Resources Are Now Colour Coded by Topic

Blue for data, gold for chance, green for volume, terracotta for fractions and purple for money. Here's what's in each colour, and who the Maths Detectives are.

Chance and Probability

9 October 2026

Teaching Chance and Probability in Years 5–6: From the Chance Scale to Expected vs Observed

The chance scale, listing outcomes, theoretical vs experimental probability, fair games and sampling with replacement, with activities that match NSW Stage 3.

Volume and Capacity

9 October 2026

Teaching Volume and Capacity in Years 5–6: Layers of Cubes, Displacement and Converting Litres

Converting litres and millilitres, the volume of rectangular prisms, the cubic metre and displacement: what NSW Stage 3 asks for and the mistakes to expect.

Data and Graphs

9 October 2026

Teaching Data and Graphs in Years 5–6: Types of Graphs, Scales and Misleading Graphs

How I teach data in Stage 3: choosing the right type of graph, many-to-one scales, surveys, spreadsheets and spotting a misleading graph, matched to the NSW syllabus.

Money and Budgeting

5 October 2026

Teaching budgeting in Years 5–6: 3 real-life money maths activities

Budgeting makes sense to students when they get to plan the money themselves. Here is a simple routine for teaching it in Years 5–6, with three real-life tasks: a family grocery shop, a week of canteen lunches and a class trip to the cinema.

Money and Budgeting

5 October 2026

Free grocery shopping budget activity for Years 5–6

A free financial maths task where students plan 3 days of family meals on $150, write a priced shopping list and save $10. Here is how it works and how to run it.