Percentages KS2 is one of those maths topics that you’ll probably only use later in life to calculate a discount off a pair of shoes or holiday! The topic of percentages KS2 will pop up during your child’s transfer test preparation and their Key Stage 2 (KS2) homework. Although this is an important skill to have especially if the sale is a good one!
Whether or not your child will use the skill of calculating percentages throughout their lives, they do have to learn it in maths classes. And not just in primary school either, percentages will carry on throughout secondary school. Percentages are a bit of a tricky topic if you don’t have a good base on which to build. If your child struggles with working out percentages, I am going to take you right back with this blog post, to allow them to build a solid foundation and help them conquer the dreaded percentages topic once and for all!
Before we take a deep dive into everything percentages, let’s talk about the transfer test! Is your child just starting or in the middle of their transfer test preparation? Grab a FREE sample paper and teaching guide here! You can use this to kickstart or boost your child’s transfer test revision. Use the teaching guide included to help explain those tricky concepts! Get your FREE SEAG Transfer Test style practice paper now!
Percentage Definition KS2
The word ‘percent’ is said to come from the Latin term ‘per centum’ which means ‘by the hundred.’ Of course, this is very fitting because the percentage is out of one hundred! Imagine an item or object split into one hundred equal pieces, this is the percentage. So what is the point of percentages and why do we need them? Well, percentages are there to help us compare quantities. They are a clear, concise way to complete calculations and assess data.
Percentages, fractions, decimals and ratios all work together hand-in-hand when comparing quantities as they are all out of a whole. If you can understand one of these concepts well, then the other three should be a piece of cake!
What percentage KS2 topics does your child learn in school?
The Northern Ireland Curriculum for Key Stage 2 Mathematics states that, ‘Pupils should be enabled to understand and use vulgar fractions, decimal fractions and percentages and explore the relationships between them.’ They should also be given opportunities to ‘Explore the relationships between vulgar fractions, decimal fractions and percentages.’ These two points are very vague and open to interpretation of what percentage topics your child should cover before leaving primary school. In this blog post, I am going to take you through the percentage topics that I teach my students to prepare them for the transfer test, secondary school and beyond!
How to teach percentages KS2: Where should you begin?
When I am teaching my students percentages, I always start with the same place. That is converting percentages into fractions. This is a great introduction to percentages KS2. Chances are your child has been learning about fractions for a good while before percentages have been introduced into their maths lessons. They are probably more familiar with fractions and using them to work out fractions of shapes, amounts, numbers and word problems. Therefore, I always recommend that my students convert any percentages that they are working with into fractions first to make them more manageable and familiar to them. If your child needs a recap or revision of fractions, you can check out my blog post, ‘Fractions How To: 11 Fantastic Fraction Topics Your Child Needs to Know,’ here!
How to convert percentages into fractions
Over time your child will begin to recognise almost instantly which fractions certain percentages convert to. For example, 50% converts to one-half, 25% to one-quarter and 33 1⁄3% to one-third. But before they can do that, they may need to do some extra calculations first. When converting a percentage to a fraction, we first need to remove the percentage symbol and put that number over one hundred in a fraction form. All percentages are out of one hundred, which is why the bottom number (denominator) of our fraction is one hundred. For example, with 60% we will remove the percent symbol and put 60 over 100 in a fraction format.
Next, we will simplify this fraction into a more manageable one. If you need a wee reminder of how to simplify a fraction, all we need to do is find a number that divides into the top and bottom number or numerator and denominator of the fraction. So with 60 and 100, we know that both of these numbers can be divided by 10. Our new fraction is 6 over 10! If your child would like to simplify this fraction further, they could divide 6 and 10 by 2. The new fraction will be 3 over 5.
Now that we have converted the percentage, 60% into a more manageable fraction of six-tenths or three-fifths, we can complete the percentage word problem or task by completing the same steps we would if it was a fraction word problem or task. With fractions, we divide by the bottom number (denominator) and multiply by the top number (numerator.)
Percentages of Shapes
Now that we can convert percentages into fractions, we can get started learning all about the other ways that percentages can make an appearance throughout your child’s maths lessons. Before tackling the more challenging percentage topics, it’s important that your child can visually recognise the different percentages. Being able to visually see the percentage in their head can help make the more challenging percentage topics a bit more manageable. There are two activities that I recommend starting with if your child is struggling with percentages and that is colouring shapes and dividing shapes into percentages.
Colour the Shape
Just like with colouring fractions of a shape, your child may be asked to colour a percentage of a shape. With this type of activity, your child may be given a shape that has already been divided into parts and they must colour a particular percentage of the shape. For example, if the shape is divided into four sections and your child is asked to colour 25% of the shape, they will first need to convert 25% into a fraction by completing the steps from above. Once they have converted 25% into one quarter, they will know that they need to colour one out of the four sections of the shape.
Divide and Colour the Shape
The second type of task that your child may complete using percentages and shapes is having to divide the shapes themselves before colouring the correct amount of the shapes. For example, your child may be given a blank circle and asked to colour 60% of the circle. Once again, I recommend converting this 60% into a fraction, so we can convert this to three-fifths. This means your child will need to divide the circle into five sections because that’s the bottom number of our fraction and colour three sections as the top number is three.
As your child progresses throughout the various percentage KS2 topics, this skill could be in their favour, as when working with pie charts, which are a circle shape, students can be asked to divide pie charts or create their own. If your child has experience in dividing shapes into percentages, then this will be a breeze for them!
Finding Percentages of Amounts KS2
Once your child can confidently convert percentages into fractions and then use this skill to show percentages visually, they can move on to finding percentages of amounts KS2. A great percentages activity KS2 is using food…Yummy! When teaching your child this concept at home, there are so many nice, tasty treats that you can use to do this. When teaching this concept when I’m tutoring, I usually use sweets or Smarties because they are easy for me to clean up afterwards! But at home, you can complete this activity with any food you like! Pizza, cakes, buns, or even fruits and vegetables. It also doesn’t have to be edible things. I’ve used pen lids, felt tips and even small building blocks before.
Steps to finding percentages of amounts KS2
To find percentages of amounts KS2 there are three steps we need to take. For this example, I will use some Haribo.
Step 1, ask your child to count how many Haribo sweets there are altogether. There are 10 sweets. Next, ask your child to give you 40% of the sweets.
Step 2, to find 40% of 10 sweets, we need to convert 40% into a more manageable fraction. To do this we will put 40 over 100 and simplify the fraction. A number that divides into 40 and 100 is 5. This brings us to 8 over 20. We can simplify this fraction even further by dividing by 4. This gives us 2 over 5 or two-fifths.
Step 3, now we are finding two-fifths of 10. To do this we will divide the total amount of sweets (10) by the bottom number of the fraction (5). Ask your child how many times does 5 divide into 10 which is 2 times.
In step 4, we need to take the answer from the division sum (2) and multiply it by the top number of the fraction (2). Ask your child what is 2 multiplied by 2. The answer is 4 and your child will give you 4 sweets!
Your child has just found 40% of the 10 Haribo sweets! You can enjoy your 4 sweets while your child eats their 6 sweets!
Percentages of Numbers KS2
Once your child feels comfortable and confident in finding percentages of amounts, you can move on to finding percentages of numbers KS2. It should seem easier for them now as they have completed a practical, fun activity which will stick in their minds. When we are finding percentages of whole numbers we are completing the same steps as finding percentages of amounts. Although, we can skip step 1 as we don’t have to count any objects or items.
If your child is asked to find 75% of 56, the first thing they will need to do is convert 75% into a fraction. There will come a time when your child will just know these percentages as fractions automatically. They might already be able to recall some popular percentages as fractions. But for now, I will continue to show you the conversion process. We will put 75 over 100 and find a number that divides into both 75 and 100. We can use the number 5. When we divide both of these numbers by 5, our new fraction is 15 over 20. We can simplify this fraction further by dividing by 5 again. Our new fraction is now 3 over 4 or three quarters.
Now we complete the next steps just like we would finding a fraction of a whole number. We will divide 56 by the bottom number of the fraction (4). Ask your child how many times 4 go into 56 (14). Next, ask your child to multiply this answer by the top number of the fraction. Ask your child what is 14 multiplied by 3 (42).
Woohoo! Your child just found 75% of 56! Do you see how much easier it is when we break it down step-by-step?
KS2 Percentage Word Problems
Now that your child is a percentage of shapes, amounts and whole numbers superstar, it’s time to move on to KS2 percentage word problems! Percentage word problems are what make an appearance most in your child’s homework and transfer test preparation. Just like we have been doing in the activities above, continue to take it slowly, step by step, there’s no need to rush. Word problems are just a ‘story’ around the mathematical sum that your child is being asked to answer. When you take away all the words, you are left with a percentage calculation KS2 which is just a percentage and a number.
Example 1:
Benny and Sally have a bag containing 48 sweets. While watching a film they eat 75% of the sweets. How many sweets do they eat?
Here we have our first example of a percentage word problem, something similar to what might appear in your child’s homework or their transfer test preparation. This word problem isn’t too ‘wordy,’ I’m saving the ‘wordy’ one for later! *insert wink emoji here!* It’s clear to see with this word problem that we are finding 75% of 48. We are finding a percentage of a whole number, so we follow the same steps as above.
Example 2:
On a school trip, 25% of the pupils have money to buy a hot lunch and 75% have a packed lunch. If 80 pupils go on the trip, how many buy a hot lunch?
In our second example, we are given two percentages. However, if you read the word problem closely, you will realise that we only need to find 25% of 80. The second percentage of 75% is there as extra information but we don’t need to complete a second calculation. Once again you will follow the same steps as finding a percentage of a whole number.
Percentages of Money KS2
This is probably the most common way that your child will continue to use percentages throughout their lives unless they end up choosing a career where they need to use percentages. Finding percentages of money KS2 or deducting percentages from money amounts is a skill that your child can take with them throughout life. There’s always a discount or saving off a holiday, trainers or fancy new tech that you can show off your percentage skills! I love it when my partner asks me, “Kerry, what’s 25% off £36?” and I can quickly do my fancy percentage calculation! It makes me feel like I should apply for one of those Whizz Kid game shows!
My top tip for completing percentage and money word problems is to read the question extremely carefully. I’ll say that again, READ THE QUESTION EXTREMELY CAREFULLY! Apologies for the dramatic, bold font but it is really important to read the question carefully! The reason for this is because the word problem is going to ask you one of two things. Option 1, when it comes to sale percentages KS2, how much money did you save? Option 2, how much does the item now cost? I’ve seen this countless times with my students when I am checking over their transfer test papers, where they have missed what the question has asked them but they know how to complete the calculation. So I am going to give you an example of each!
Example 1: How much money did you save?
Jackson wants to buy a new pair of trainers. There is a special discount where you get 25% off if you buy three pairs of trainers. Each pair of trainers costs £28. How much money does Jackson save if he buys three pairs of trainers?
With this question, there are two steps we need to complete. The first is calculating how much the three pairs of trainers cost, which is £28 multiplied by 3 (£84). The second is finding 25% of £84. For this second step, we need to follow the same process as finding 25% of a whole number. We convert 25% into a fraction, which is one quarter. Then we find one-quarter of 84, which is 21. So Jackson saves £21.00 if he buys three pairs of trainers.
Example 2: How much does the item now cost?
The laptop that Tim wants to buy has a discount of 20%. If the laptop usually costs £450, how much would Tim pay for it with the discount?
In example 2, we find the final price that Tim pays for the laptop. Not how much he saves but how much he pays for the item. Our first step is to find 20% of £450. Just like in example 1, we need to convert 20% into a fraction, which is one-fifth. We are now finding one-fifth of 450 (90). This is where you need to remind your child to read the question carefully! Tim doesn’t pay £90 for the laptop (that would be an extremely good deal!) This is what he saves. So our last step is to subtract £90 from £450. Tim pays £360 for his new laptop.
A handy hint when working with money!
Before we finish this section, I wanted to give you a handy hint for working with money. When completing money calculations, you can be left with a remainder. For example, if we are finding 20% of £12. When we convert 20% to one-fifth, we know straight away that 5 does not divide evenly into 12. I recommend laying out your sum as the full money amount, 12.00. This means your child can carry over the remainder to the zeros after the decimal and complete the sum quickly and easily! 20% of £12 will be £2.40.
Converting Percentages, Fractions and Decimals
Last on my list is converting percentages to fractions and decimals. Before your child leaves primary school, it is important that they can see and understand the relationships between fractions decimals and percentages KS2. With some percentages, 50%, 25%, 20% and 33 ⅓% your child may know the conversions off the top of their heads. But with others, they may need to convert them using a calculation.
Converting Percentages to Fractions
When converting percentages into fractions, the first thing we need to do is remove the percentage symbol and place the percentage over 100. We will always put the percentage number over 100 as remember, percent means out of one hundred. For example, if your child is asked to convert 45% into a fraction, they will remove the percent sign and place 45 over 100. Once they have done this, they can simplify the fraction into one that’s more manageable. They will find a number that divides into 45 and 100, we can use the number 5. We now have 9/20 and although this isn’t a super easy fraction to work with, it’s better than working with 100 and 45!
Converting Percentages to Decimals
Converting percentages into decimals starts with the same step as converting percentages to fractions. That first step is removing the percent symbol! However this time, we are not placing the number over 100. Instead, we are going to divide the percent number by 100. All whole numbers have a decimal point after them. So if we are converting 60% into a decimal, we are going to remove the percentage sign, 60 and place a decimal point at the end of the number, 60.
Next, we divide 60. by 100, that decimal point will move two spaces to the left. We are moving two spaces because there are two zeros on 100. This gives us 0.6. And just like that, you’ve converted 60% into a decimal! If your child needs a recap on this type of calculation, check out my blog post, ‘Place Value Explanation: How to help your child ace their maths homework.’
(Disclaimer, some teachers go crazy if you talk about moving the decimal point! But in my experience, it has been the easiest option for my students. If there’s an easier way that gives you the same answer, then I say go for it! Just don’t tell your child’s teacher that I said that! Haha)
How to help your child if they struggle with understanding percentages KS2
If your child struggles or gets stressed out over finding percentages KS2, my top tip is to identify which part of percentages they are getting confused with. Is it the word problems, converting into fractions or decimals or do they not have a clue about the entire topic? If that’s the case, I recommend cutting your losses and going right back to the basics.
Complete some fun practical activities and percentage investigation KS2 with your child. Cut pizzas or cakes into certain percentages. Share out sweets or your child’s favourite snacks with your family members using percentages. If your child is getting new trainers or a game they want, get them to work out a percentage of the price. There are so many activities in real life where we can practise percentage skills. You can also use online or physical percentage KS2 games that you can play at home with your child. Use this to build a solid foundation of percentages before completing percentages KS2 worksheet-based tasks.
If your child is sent home today with a finding percentages KS2 homework and it’s due in for the next day, don’t panic! Complete a fun online percentage game first, then take the homework step-by-step. Here is a link to some fun percentage games you can play online with your child.
More Information on percentages
How to find a percentage of a number?
Teachers’ tricks for percentages
15 Ideas for Teaching Percents
I know…that was A LOT wasn’t it! Percentages KS2 is such a big topic with lots of moving parts and conversions. But if you take it step-by-step with your child, it will be more manageable and make more sense to them.
Remember, teaching percentages KS2 to your child can also be stressful for you parents! So if you or your child feel overwhelmed or agitated, take a beat, take a break and come back to it another time. Rome wasn’t built in a day and your child’s percentage KS2 knowledge won’t be either!
