Finding the Mean Average: Year 6 Maths

Year 6 SATs maths worksheets on finding and using the mean: 36 questions in three levels (All, Most, Some), with working space and answers. Free PDF.

7-page A4 PDF from the Tiger Shark Education question bank. All: Find the mean from a bar chart. Most: Find a missing value to give a mean. Some: Make a set of data with a given mean. Each level is two pages of six questions, each with its own diagram and space for working, and the last page has every answer, with the correct drawing for each “draw it” question. Each level is also available as its own 3-page PDF. Example questions from the Some level: Draw 4 bars so the mean is 5 / Draw 5 bars so the mean is 6.

What is the mean? The mean is a type of average, found by adding all the values and dividing by the number of values. The mean of 4, 7 and 10 is 21 ÷ 3 = 7. Year 6 pupils calculate and interpret the mean in context and use it to solve problems, including working backwards from a known mean.

Common mistakes and tips: Children often divide by the wrong number, for example forgetting a value of zero in the count. Problems that work backwards (the mean of five numbers is 8, so the total must be 40) need explicit teaching. Linking the mean to ‘sharing equally’ with blocks helps children understand what it represents.

In the KS2 SATs, this topic can appear on the arithmetic paper, on the two reasoning papers, or both. Reasoning questions often wrap the skill in a context or ask children to explain an answer, so the three levels on this sheet build from fluency to the kind of problem pupils meet in the test.

Ways to use it: whole-class differentiation (three levels for the same lesson), focused intervention for children working towards the expected standard, homework, or targeted revision before the SATs. Set one level as a quick assessment and use the answers to decide who needs another lesson on the topic.

Building fluency over time: revisiting this topic little and often throughout the year, rather than only in one unit, helps children retain it for the SATs. A few questions from the All or Most level make a good retrieval starter several weeks after the topic was first taught.

Use All for children working towards the expected standard, Most for secure Year 5 skills and Some for SATs-standard practice: three entry points to the same lesson. Suits whole-class differentiation, intervention groups, homework and SATs revision, and upper KS2 generally.

Part of a set of 42 Year 6 maths topics.