Year 4: Months, years and the calendar
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Months, years and the calendar
A year has 12 months. So to change years into months we multiply by 12 (4 years = 4 × 12 = 48 months), and to change months into years we divide by 12.
Days in each month. Some months have 31 days, some have 30, and February is different: 28 days, or 29 in a leap year. Here is a trick to remember. Make a fist. Say the months along your knuckles and the dips between them. Every knuckle is a month with 31 days. Every dip is a month with 30 days (except February). After July, go back to the first knuckle for August.
Years and leap years. A normal year has 365 days. Every 4 years there is a leap year with 366 days. In a leap year, February has 29 days, not 28. How to check if a year is a leap year: look at the last two digits. If they can be divided by 4 with nothing left over, it is a leap year (2024: 24 ÷ 4 = 6). 2030 is not: 30 ÷ 4 = 7 remainder 2.
Weeks. There are 7 days in a week. A year has 52 weeks and 1 extra day (52 × 7 = 364).
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | 31 |
Finding dates. To find a date some days or weeks later, add the days. If the answer is bigger than the number of days in the month, take away the days in the month. The first day after the end of the month is the 1st of the next month. For example: 20 June + 2 weeks is 20 + 14 = 34. June has 30 days, so 34 − 30 = 4: it is 4 July.
Key ideas
- 12 months = 1 year. Years to months: × 12. Months to years: ÷ 12.
- 31 days: January, March, May, July, August, October, December. 30 days: April, June, September, November.
- February has 28 days, and 29 days in a leap year.
- A year has 365 days. A leap year has 366 days and comes every 4 years (the last two digits divide by 4).
- 7 days = 1 week. Dates in the same column of a calendar are 7 days apart.
- To find a later date: add the days, and if you go past the end of the month, take away the days in the month.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Use your knuckles. Each knuckle is a month with 31 days. Each dip between knuckles is a month with 30 days (except February).
- Make a fist and say the months, starting on the first knuckle. Start at the first knuckle for January.Jan: knuckle
Feb: dip
Mar: knuckle
Apr: dip
May: knuckle
Jun: dip
Jul: knuckle - Find out if July is a knuckle or a dip. Knuckle: 31 days. Dip: 30 days. February is the odd one out.July is a knuckle: 31 days.
- Write the answer. July has 31 days.
Check. The rhyme way: April, June, September and November have 30. February has 28 or 29. All the rest have 31. ✓
Watch out. February is the only month that does not have 30 or 31 days.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Use your knuckles. Each knuckle is a month with 31 days. Each dip between knuckles is a month with 30 days (except February).
- Make a fist and say the months, starting on the first knuckle. August is a knuckle too: after July go back to the first knuckle and start again.Aug: knuckle
Sep: dip - Find out if September is a knuckle or a dip. Knuckle: 31 days. Dip: 30 days. February is the odd one out.September is a dip: 30 days.
- Write the answer. September has 30 days.
Check. The rhyme way: April, June, September and November have 30. February has 28 or 29. All the rest have 31. ✓
Watch out. February is the only month that does not have 30 or 31 days.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Use your knuckles. Each knuckle is a month with 31 days. Each dip between knuckles is a month with 30 days (except February).
- Make a fist and say the months, starting on the first knuckle. Start at the first knuckle for January.Jan: knuckle
Feb: dip - Find out if February is a knuckle or a dip. Knuckle: 31 days. Dip: 30 days. February is the odd one out.February is a dip with 28 days, but in a leap year it has 29. 2028 is a leap year, so February 2028 has 29 days.
- Write the answer. February has 29 days.
Check. The rhyme way: April, June, September and November have 30. February has 28 or 29. All the rest have 31. ✓
Watch out. February is the only month that does not have 30 or 31 days.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. A leap year can be divided by 4 with nothing left over. To check, divide the last two digits by 4.
- Look at the last two digits of 2028. Because 100 divides exactly by 4, only the last two digits matter.The last two digits are 28.
- Divide 28 by 4. If there is no remainder, the number is in the 4 times table.4 × 7 = 28. 28 ÷ 4 = 7 exactly.
- Decide. 2028 can be divided by 4 exactly, so it is a leap year. Yes
Check. 4 × 507 = 2,028 = 2028. ✓
Watch out. A leap year has 366 days, and February has 29 days.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. A leap year can be divided by 4 with nothing left over. To check, divide the last two digits by 4.
- Look at the last two digits of 2030. Because 100 divides exactly by 4, only the last two digits matter.The last two digits are 30.
- Divide 30 by 4. If there is no remainder, the number is in the 4 times table.4 × 7 = 28. 30 − 28 = 2 left over.
- Decide. 2030 cannot be divided by 4 exactly, so it is not a leap year. No
Check. 4 × 507 = 2,028, and 2030 is 2 more. ✓
Watch out. A leap year has 366 days, and February has 29 days.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Find how many days are in each month. Then add them up.
- Write the number of days in each month. Use the knuckles. Knuckle = 31, dip = 30, February = 28 (29 in a leap year).June: 30 days
July: 31 days - Add the days. The total is all the days together.30 + 31 = 61
- Write the answer. June and July: 61 days
Check. Check by adding in a different order. ✓
Watch out. Check February: it has 28 days, or 29 in a leap year.
Key words. To convert is to change from one unit to another. 60 seconds = 1 minute. 60 minutes = 1 hour. 24 hours = 1 day. 7 days = 1 week. 12 months = 1 year. To go from a big unit to a small unit we multiply. To go from a small unit to a big unit we divide.
Method. There are 12 months in 1 year. Going from years to months (big unit to small unit), we multiply by 12.
- Write the fact. We need to know how many of the small unit make one of the big unit.1 year = 12 months
- Multiply by 12. We have 4 years, so we need 4 lots of 12.4 × 12 = 48 (a times-table fact)
- Write the answer with its unit. 4 years = 48 months
Check. Go back: 48 ÷ 12 = 4. ✓
Watch out. A big unit changes to a bigger number of small units. 4 years must be more than 4 months.
Key words. To convert is to change from one unit to another. 60 seconds = 1 minute. 60 minutes = 1 hour. 24 hours = 1 day. 7 days = 1 week. 12 months = 1 year. To go from a big unit to a small unit we multiply. To go from a small unit to a big unit we divide.
Method. There are 12 months in 1 year. Going from months to years (small unit to big unit), we divide by 12. The remainder is the left over months.
- Write the fact. We need to know how many of the small unit make one of the big unit.1 year = 12 months
- Divide by 12. Going from months to years (small unit to big unit) we divide. We find how many lots of 12 are in 30.12 × 2 = 24
12 × 3 = 36 is too big
30 − 24 = 6 left over
30 ÷ 12 = 2 remainder 6 - Write the whole years and the left over months. The remainder is the months that do not make another whole year.30 months = 2 years 6 months
Check. 2 × 12 = 24 and 24 + 6 = 30. ✓
Watch out. The remainder is months, not a decimal. 30 months is not 2.6 years.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | 31 |
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Find the date in the calendar. Then look at the top of its column to read the day of the week.
- Find 17 in the calendar. The dates are in rows. Each row is one week.17 March
- Look straight up the column. The day names are at the top of each column.The column is headed Tue.
- Write the answer. 17 March is a Tuesday.
Check. Dates in the same column are 7 days apart: 17 + 7 = 24, which is also a Tuesday. ✓
Watch out. Read straight up the column. A date in the row above or below is a different day.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Add the days to the date. If the answer is bigger than the number of days in the month, take that number away and move to the next month.
- Change 2 weeks into days. 1 week = 7 days.2 × 7 = 14 days
- Add the days to the date. Count on from the date.20 + 14 = 34
- 34 is more than the days in June, so move to the next month. June has 30 days. Take them away to see how far into the next month we are.34 − 30 = 4
- Write the date. 4 July
Check. Count back 14 days from 4 July to get to 20 June. ✓
Watch out. June has 30 days, so after the 30th comes the 1st of the next month.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Add the days to the date. If the answer is bigger than the number of days in the month, take that number away and move to the next month.
- Add the days to the date. Count on from the date.25 + 10 = 35
- 35 is more than the days in March, so move to the next month. March has 31 days. Take them away to see how far into the next month we are.35 − 31 = 4
- Write the date. 4 April
Check. Count back 10 days from 4 April to get to 25 March. ✓
Watch out. March has 31 days, so after the 31th comes the 1st of the next month.
Watch out
February is the odd one out, and the 31 days are not all together. Many children think that months alternate 31, 30, 31, 30 all year. But July and August both have 31 days. And do not say a leap year has 30 days in February. It has 29. A leap year has 366 days in the whole year.Exercise 8E Months, years and the calendar
Non-calculatorKey words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Use your knuckles. Each knuckle is a month with 31 days. Each dip between knuckles is a month with 30 days (except February).
- Make a fist and say the months, starting on the first knuckle. Start at the first knuckle for January.Jan: knuckle
Feb: dip
Mar: knuckle - Find out if March is a knuckle or a dip. Knuckle: 31 days. Dip: 30 days. February is the odd one out.March is a knuckle: 31 days.
- Write the answer. March has 31 days.
Check. The rhyme way: April, June, September and November have 30. February has 28 or 29. All the rest have 31. ✓
Watch out. February is the only month that does not have 30 or 31 days.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Use your knuckles. Each knuckle is a month with 31 days. Each dip between knuckles is a month with 30 days (except February).
- Make a fist and say the months, starting on the first knuckle. Start at the first knuckle for January.Jan: knuckle
Feb: dip
Mar: knuckle
Apr: dip - Find out if April is a knuckle or a dip. Knuckle: 31 days. Dip: 30 days. February is the odd one out.April is a dip: 30 days.
- Write the answer. April has 30 days.
Check. The rhyme way: April, June, September and November have 30. February has 28 or 29. All the rest have 31. ✓
Watch out. February is the only month that does not have 30 or 31 days.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Use your knuckles. Each knuckle is a month with 31 days. Each dip between knuckles is a month with 30 days (except February).
- Make a fist and say the months, starting on the first knuckle. August is a knuckle too: after July go back to the first knuckle and start again.Aug: knuckle
Sep: dip
Oct: knuckle
Nov: dip - Find out if November is a knuckle or a dip. Knuckle: 31 days. Dip: 30 days. February is the odd one out.November is a dip: 30 days.
- Write the answer. November has 30 days.
Check. The rhyme way: April, June, September and November have 30. February has 28 or 29. All the rest have 31. ✓
Watch out. February is the only month that does not have 30 or 31 days.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Use your knuckles. Each knuckle is a month with 31 days. Each dip between knuckles is a month with 30 days (except February).
- Make a fist and say the months, starting on the first knuckle. August is a knuckle too: after July go back to the first knuckle and start again.Aug: knuckle
- Find out if August is a knuckle or a dip. Knuckle: 31 days. Dip: 30 days. February is the odd one out.August is a knuckle: 31 days.
- Write the answer. August has 31 days.
Check. The rhyme way: April, June, September and November have 30. February has 28 or 29. All the rest have 31. ✓
Watch out. February is the only month that does not have 30 or 31 days.
Key words. To convert is to change from one unit to another. 60 seconds = 1 minute. 60 minutes = 1 hour. 24 hours = 1 day. 7 days = 1 week. 12 months = 1 year. To go from a big unit to a small unit we multiply. To go from a small unit to a big unit we divide.
Method. There are 12 months in 1 year. Going from years to months (big unit to small unit), we multiply by 12.
- Write the fact. We need to know how many of the small unit make one of the big unit.1 year = 12 months
- Multiply by 12. We have 3 years, so we need 3 lots of 12.3 × 12 = 36 (a times-table fact)
- Write the answer with its unit. 3 years = 36 months
Check. Go back: 36 ÷ 12 = 3. ✓
Watch out. A big unit changes to a bigger number of small units. 3 years must be more than 3 months.
Key words. To convert is to change from one unit to another. 60 seconds = 1 minute. 60 minutes = 1 hour. 24 hours = 1 day. 7 days = 1 week. 12 months = 1 year. To go from a big unit to a small unit we multiply. To go from a small unit to a big unit we divide.
Method. There are 12 months in 1 year. Going from years to months (big unit to small unit), we multiply by 12.
- Write the fact. We need to know how many of the small unit make one of the big unit.1 year = 12 months
- Multiply by 12. We have 5 years, so we need 5 lots of 12.5 × 12 = 60 (a times-table fact)
- Write the answer with its unit. 5 years = 60 months
Check. Go back: 60 ÷ 12 = 5. ✓
Watch out. A big unit changes to a bigger number of small units. 5 years must be more than 5 months.
Key words. To convert is to change from one unit to another. 60 seconds = 1 minute. 60 minutes = 1 hour. 24 hours = 1 day. 7 days = 1 week. 12 months = 1 year. To go from a big unit to a small unit we multiply. To go from a small unit to a big unit we divide.
Method. There are 12 months in 1 year. Going from months to years (small unit to big unit), we divide by 12.
- Write the fact. We need to know how many of the small unit make one of the big unit.1 year = 12 months
- Divide by 12. Going from months to years (small unit to big unit) we divide. We find how many lots of 12 are in 48.12 × 4 = 48
48 ÷ 12 = 4 - Write the answer with its unit. 48 months = 4 years
Check. 4 × 12 = 48 = 48. ✓
Watch out. A small unit changes to a smaller number of big units. 48 months must be fewer than 48 years.
Key words. To convert is to change from one unit to another. 60 seconds = 1 minute. 60 minutes = 1 hour. 24 hours = 1 day. 7 days = 1 week. 12 months = 1 year. To go from a big unit to a small unit we multiply. To go from a small unit to a big unit we divide.
Method. There are 12 months in 1 year. Going from months to years (small unit to big unit), we divide by 12. The remainder is the left over months.
- Write the fact. We need to know how many of the small unit make one of the big unit.1 year = 12 months
- Divide by 12. Going from months to years (small unit to big unit) we divide. We find how many lots of 12 are in 30.12 × 2 = 24
12 × 3 = 36 is too big
30 − 24 = 6 left over
30 ÷ 12 = 2 remainder 6 - Write the whole years and the left over months. The remainder is the months that do not make another whole year.30 months = 2 years 6 months
Check. 2 × 12 = 24 and 24 + 6 = 30. ✓
Watch out. The remainder is months, not a decimal. 30 months is not 2.6 years.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. A leap year can be divided by 4 with nothing left over. To check, divide the last two digits by 4.
- Look at the last two digits of 2024. Because 100 divides exactly by 4, only the last two digits matter.The last two digits are 24.
- Divide 24 by 4. If there is no remainder, the number is in the 4 times table.4 × 6 = 24. 24 ÷ 4 = 6 exactly.
- Decide. 2024 can be divided by 4 exactly, so it is a leap year. Yes
Check. 4 × 506 = 2,024 = 2024. ✓
Watch out. A leap year has 366 days, and February has 29 days.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. A leap year can be divided by 4 with nothing left over. To check, divide the last two digits by 4.
- Look at the last two digits of 2031. Because 100 divides exactly by 4, only the last two digits matter.The last two digits are 31.
- Divide 31 by 4. If there is no remainder, the number is in the 4 times table.4 × 7 = 28. 31 − 28 = 3 left over.
- Decide. 2031 cannot be divided by 4 exactly, so it is not a leap year. No
Check. 4 × 507 = 2,028, and 2031 is 3 more. ✓
Watch out. A leap year has 366 days, and February has 29 days.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. A leap year can be divided by 4 with nothing left over. To check, divide the last two digits by 4.
- Look at the last two digits of 2040. Because 100 divides exactly by 4, only the last two digits matter.The last two digits are 40.
- Divide 40 by 4. If there is no remainder, the number is in the 4 times table.4 × 10 = 40. 40 ÷ 4 = 10 exactly.
- Decide. 2040 can be divided by 4 exactly, so it is a leap year. Yes
Check. 4 × 510 = 2,040 = 2040. ✓
Watch out. A leap year has 366 days, and February has 29 days.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. A leap year can be divided by 4 with nothing left over. To check, divide the last two digits by 4.
- Look at the last two digits of 2050. Because 100 divides exactly by 4, only the last two digits matter.The last two digits are 50.
- Divide 50 by 4. If there is no remainder, the number is in the 4 times table.4 × 12 = 48. 50 − 48 = 2 left over.
- Decide. 2050 cannot be divided by 4 exactly, so it is not a leap year. No
Check. 4 × 512 = 2,048, and 2050 is 2 more. ✓
Watch out. A leap year has 366 days, and February has 29 days.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Use the knuckle trick. The dips are the months with 30 days. Remember that February is special.
- Say the months on your knuckles. Knuckles are 31 days and dips are 30 days.Jan knuckle, Feb dip, Mar knuckle, Apr dip, May knuckle, Jun dip, Jul knuckle. Then Aug knuckle, Sep dip, Oct knuckle, Nov dip, Dec knuckle.
- List the dips, but leave out February. February has 28 or 29 days, not 30.April, June, September, November
- Count them. There are 4 months with exactly 30 days.
Check. The other months have 31 days (7 of them) and February has 28 or 29: 4 + 7 + 1 = 12 months. ✓
Watch out. February has fewer than 30 days even though it is a dip.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 |
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Find the date in the calendar. Then look at the top of its column to read the day of the week.
- Find 10 in the calendar. The dates are in rows. Each row is one week.10 June
- Look straight up the column. The day names are at the top of each column.The column is headed Wed.
- Write the answer. 10 June is a Wednesday.
Check. Dates in the same column are 7 days apart: 10 + 7 = 17, which is also a Wednesday. ✓
Watch out. Read straight up the column. A date in the row above or below is a different day.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Find the date in the calendar. Then look at the top of its column to read the day of the week.
- Find 26 in the calendar. The dates are in rows. Each row is one week.26 June
- Look straight up the column. The day names are at the top of each column.The column is headed Fri.
- Write the answer. 26 June is a Friday.
Check. Dates in the same column are 7 days apart. ✓
Watch out. Read straight up the column. A date in the row above or below is a different day.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Look down the column for that day. Count the dates in it.
- Find the Sun column. Each column has one day of the week.The column for Sunday.
- List the dates in that column. The dates go up by 7 each time, because there are 7 days in a week.7, 14, 21, 28
- Count them. 4 Sundays
Check. Each date is 7 more than the one before. ✓
Watch out. Check the first and last rows. The columns do not all have the same number of dates.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Count on from the first date to the second date. The number of days between them is the difference.
- Write the two dates. They are in the same month, June.5 and 19
- Take the smaller date from the bigger date. This is how many days pass.19 − 5 = 14
- Write the answer. 14 days
Check. 5 + 14 = 19. ✓
Watch out. Do not count the first day. From the 5th to the 6th is 1 day.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Find how many days are in each month. Then add them up.
- Write the number of days in each month. Use the knuckles. Knuckle = 31, dip = 30, February = 28 (29 in a leap year).January: 31 days
February: 28 days - Add the days. The total is all the days together.31 + 28 = 59
- Write the answer. January and February: 59 days
Check. Check by adding in a different order. ✓
Watch out. Check February: it has 28 days, or 29 in a leap year.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Find how many days are in each month. Then add them up.
- Write the number of days in each month. Use the knuckles. Knuckle = 31, dip = 30, February = 28 (29 in a leap year).July: 31 days
August: 31 days - Add the days. The total is all the days together.31 + 31 = 62
- Write the answer. July and August: 62 days
Check. Check by adding in a different order. ✓
Watch out. Check February: it has 28 days, or 29 in a leap year.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Find how many days are in each month. Then add them up.
- Write the number of days in each month. Use the knuckles. Knuckle = 31, dip = 30, February = 28 (29 in a leap year).September: 30 days
October: 31 days
November: 30 days - Add the days. The total is all the days together.30 + 31 + 30 = 91
- Write the answer. September, October and November: 91 days
Check. Check by adding in a different order. ✓
Watch out. Check February: it has 28 days, or 29 in a leap year.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Add the days to the date. If the answer is bigger than the number of days in the month, take that number away and move to the next month.
- Change 3 weeks into days. 1 week = 7 days.3 × 7 = 21 days
- Add the days to the date. Count on from the date.14 + 21 = 35
- 35 is more than the days in September, so move to the next month. September has 30 days. Take them away to see how far into the next month we are.35 − 30 = 5
- Write the date. 5 October
Check. Count back 21 days from 5 October to get to 14 September. ✓
Watch out. September has 30 days, so after the 30th comes the 1st of the next month.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Add the days to the date. If the answer is bigger than the number of days in the month, take that number away and move to the next month.
- Add the days to the date. Count on from the date.27 + 10 = 37
- 37 is more than the days in January, so move to the next month. January has 31 days. Take them away to see how far into the next month we are.37 − 31 = 6
- Write the date. 6 February
Check. Count back 10 days from 6 February to get to 27 January. ✓
Watch out. January has 31 days, so after the 31th comes the 1st of the next month.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Add the days to the date. If the answer is bigger than the number of days in the month, take that number away and move to the next month.
- Change 4 weeks into days. 1 week = 7 days.4 × 7 = 28 days
- Add the days to the date. Count on from the date.8 + 28 = 36
- 36 is more than the days in December, so move to the next month. December has 31 days. Take them away to see how far into the next month we are.36 − 31 = 5
- Write the date. 5 January
Check. Count back 28 days from 5 January to get to 8 December. ✓
Watch out. December has 31 days, so after the 31th comes the 1st of the next month.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Find how many days are in each month. Then add them up.
- Write the number of days in each month. Use the knuckles. Knuckle = 31, dip = 30, February = 28 (29 in a leap year).January: 31 days
February: 28 days
March: 31 days - Add the days. The total is all the days together.31 + 28 + 31 = 90
- Write the answer. January, February and March: 90 days
Check. Check by adding in a different order. ✓
Watch out. Check February: it has 28 days, or 29 in a leap year.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Find how many days are in each month. Then add them up.
- Write the number of days in each month. Use the knuckles. Knuckle = 31, dip = 30, February = 28 (29 in a leap year).January: 31 days
February: 29 days (2028 is a leap year)
March: 31 days - Add the days. The total is all the days together.31 + 29 + 31 = 91
- Write the answer. January, February and March: 91 days
Check. Check by adding in a different order. ✓
Watch out. Check February: it has 28 days, or 29 in a leap year.
Key words. To convert is to change from one unit to another. 60 seconds = 1 minute. 60 minutes = 1 hour. 24 hours = 1 day. 7 days = 1 week. 12 months = 1 year. To go from a big unit to a small unit we multiply. To go from a small unit to a big unit we divide.
Method. Change the years into months first. Then add the months you already have.
- Change 3 years into months. 1 year = 12 months, so multiply by 12.3 × 12 = 36 (a times-table fact)
- Add the 4 months. Now we add on the months that were left.36 + 4 = 40
- Write the answer with its unit. 3 years 4 months = 40 months
Check. 40 ÷ 12 = 3 remainder 4, which is 3 years 4 months. ✓
Watch out. There are 12, not 100, months in a year.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Leap years come every 4 years. Add 4 to 2020 and check.
- Find the next year in the 4 times table steps. Leap years are 4 years apart.2020 + 4 = 2024
- Check it is a leap year. Divide the last two digits by 4.24 ÷ 4 = 6 exactly, so 2024 is a leap year.
Check. 2021, 2022 and 2023 are not leap years because 21, 22 and 23 do not divide by 4. ✓
Watch out. 29 February only comes in a leap year.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Take the year of the birthday away from the year he was born.
- Write the sum. Age is how many years have passed.2024 − 2020 = 4
- Write the answer. Leo has had only one birthday on 29 February by then.He will be 4 years old.
Check. 2020 + 4 = 2024. ✓
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Check how many days February has in a leap year.
- What did Tom say? Tom said there are 30 days in February in a leap year.30 days
- Find the mistake. A leap year has one extra day. February normally has 28 days, so in a leap year it has one more.28 + 1 = 29 days
- Write the right answer. February has 29 days in a leap year. No month has fewer than 28 days, and February never has 30.
Check. A leap year has 365 + 1 = 366 days. ✓
Watch out. Leap year: 29 days in February, 366 in the year.
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Some months have 30 days and some do not.
- Try April. April has 30 days.
- Try May. May has 31 days.
- Decide. It is true for some months but not all.Sometimes
Check. We found a month where it is true and one where it is not. ✓
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. A leap year is one day longer than a normal year.
- Write the number of days. A normal year has 365 days. One extra day is added.365 + 1 = 366
- Decide. A leap year has 366 days. Always
Check. 366 = 52 × 7 + 2. ✓
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Leap years are 4 years apart.
- Think about the year after a leap year. The next leap year is 4 years later, not 1 year.2024 is a leap year. 2025 is not.
- Decide. Never
Check. 2025 ÷ 4 = 506 remainder 1, so not a leap year. ✓
Key words. A calendar shows the days and dates of the months. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, because February has 29 days. Date means the day of the month (like 14 March).
Method. Write the months in order with their days. Look for two months next to each other that both have 31 days.
- Write the days in each month in order. January to December.Jan 31, Feb 28, Mar 31, Apr 30, May 31, Jun 30, Jul 31, Aug 31, Sep 30, Oct 31, Nov 30, Dec 31
- Look for two 31s next to each other. We need the same number twice in a row.Jul 31 and Aug 31. Also Dec 31 and then Jan 31 of the next year.
- Write the answer. July and August, and December and January
Check. No other neighbouring months are both 31 days. ✓
Watch out. Remember that December is followed by January of the next year.