Learning Map

Mental addition and subtraction (age 9+)

Add and subtract numbers mentally with increasingly large numbers, using place-value knowledge and derived facts

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

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Try this together

Can your child work out something like '4,700 − 1,300' in their head using what they know about place value — without needing to write it all out?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on
Mental addition and subtraction (age 7+)ages 7–8Mental add/sub with 3-digit numbers and ones feeds into larger-number mental methods
Place Value × 10 Patternages 9–10×10 place-value relationship supports mental strategies with large numbers
Mental addition and subtraction (age 9+)this skill · ages 9–10
Unlocks
Ratio (age 10+)ages 10–11Mental calculations with mixed ops/large numbers extends Y5 mental A+S
Adding and subtracting (age 9+)ages 9–10Mental methods support choosing appropriate methods in multi-step problems

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 3 ACARA · 2 NSW · 3 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9M3A02high confidenceYear 3 · Algebra

extend and apply knowledge of addition and subtraction facts to 20 to develop efficient mental strategies for computation with larger numbers without a calculator

AC9M3N03medium confidenceYear 3 · Number

add and subtract two- and three-digit numbers using place value to partition, rearrange and regroup numbers to assist in calculations without a calculator

AC9M6N04medium confidenceYear 6 · Number

apply knowledge of place value to add and subtract decimals, using digital tools where appropriate; use estimation and rounding to check the reasonableness of answers

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

MA2-AR-01high confidenceMathematics K-10 · Stage 2
MA2-RN-01low confidenceMathematics K-10 · Stage 2

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2M3A02high confidenceMathematics · Level 3 · Algebra strand
VC2M4A02medium confidenceMathematics · Level 4 · Algebra strand
VC2M5N06medium confidenceMathematics · Level 5 · Number strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

All Addition & Subtraction skills →