About this worksheet

This free Year 6 adding and subtracting decimals worksheet is written for the Western Australian curriculum and mapped to SCSA content description WA6MNACN3. It focuses on one skill and is full of hands-on activities where children shade, draw, label and complete diagrams. By the end, students can say “I can add and subtract decimals to two decimal places using columns, grids and number lines.”

What’s inside

• Key idea box – a short explanation with a worked, visual example to read before starting.
• A · Warm up (16 questions) – quick draw, shade and write practice to build confidence.
• B · Practise (9 questions) – worded problems in everyday Australian contexts, most with a diagram to work on.
• C · Think it through (5 questions) – explain your thinking: spot the mistake, true or false, always–sometimes–never, odd one out.
• D · Challenge (3 questions) – harder multi-step and problem-solving questions for students ready to stretch.
• Separate marking key – every answer with working, the correct shading and drawings shown in colour, and marking criteria for reasoning questions.

Skills covered

• Lining up decimal points to add and subtract
• Using a zero placeholder, e.g. 2.8 = 2.80
• Estimating to check decimal answers

How to use this worksheet

Print the worksheet in black and white – all shading shows clearly in grey. Read the Key idea box together, then complete Section A. Most students should attempt Sections B and C; Section D suits students aiming high or preparing for extension and selective-entry maths. The worksheet is marked out of 56, and the score box on the last page shows which section needs more practice.

Common mistakes to watch for

• Lining up the last digits, e.g. 4.5 + 2.36 = 2.81
• Adding 0.48 + 0.3 as 0.51
• Forgetting to regroup when subtracting, e.g. 0.72 − 0.45
• Subtracting 10 − 3.64 as 7.64 by ignoring the decimal places

Where this fits in the WA Year 6 sequence

Adding and Subtracting Decimals sits in the Calculating with number sub-strand of Number and algebra. It is one of a set of short, single-skill EduLift worksheets that split each Year 6 content description into sub-skills. Use the previous and next links to work through the sequence in order.

Common errors we see in tutoring

• Lining up the last digits, e.g. 4.5 + 2.36 = 2.81
• Adding 0.48 + 0.3 as 0.51
• Forgetting to regroup when subtracting, e.g. 0.72 − 0.45
• Subtracting 10 − 3.64 as 7.64 by ignoring the decimal places