Anchor the lesson on one big idea and repeat it constantly: percentages, fractions and decimals are three names for the same amount. Per cent literally means "for every hundred", so every percentage is secretly a fraction with denominator 100 — and hundredths are exactly what two decimal places show.
1. What % actually means (5 min)
Show a 10×10 hundred grid with 25 squares shaded. Think aloud: "25 out of 100 squares are shaded. As a fraction that's 25/100. As a decimal, 25 hundredths is 0.25. And 'per cent' means 'out of 100', so it's 25%. Three names, one amount."
2. The benchmarks on one number line (6 min)
Build a triple-labelled 0–1 number line with the class, placing 10% = 1/10 = 0.1, 25% = 1/4 = 0.25, 50% = 1/2 = 0.5, 75% = 3/4 = 0.75 and 100% = 1. Emphasise that all three labels sit at the same point — the notation changes, the position doesn't.
3. Converting deliberately (4 min)
Model both directions. Fraction → percentage: rename with denominator 100 (1/4 = 25/100 = 25% — this is the equivalent-fractions skill from last lesson). Percentage → decimal: read it as hundredths (40% = 40/100 = 0.40 = 0.4).
Guided practice on mini whiteboards using the class routine — students chant it before each question:
- SAY IT AS HUNDREDTHS. "40% is 40 out of 100."
- WRITE ALL THREE. Fraction, decimal, percentage — same amount, three names.
- CHECK ON THE LINE. Would all three labels sit on the same point?
Whiteboard sequence (reveal one at a time, discuss errors immediately):
- Shade 50 squares on your grid — write it three ways (50/100 = 1/2, 0.5, 50%)
- Write 10% as a fraction and a decimal (1/10, 0.1)
- Convert 3/4 to a percentage (75/100 = 75%)
- Convert 0.2 to a percentage and a fraction (20%, 1/5 — accept 20/100, praise simplest form)
- Order smallest to largest: 0.4, 25%, 1/2 (convert all to one form first: 40%, 25%, 50% → 25% < 0.4 < 1/2)
Students complete the Percentage, Fractions and Decimals worksheet independently. It ramps through five sections: reading the hundred grid → the benchmark conversion table → the triple number line → comparing and ordering → discounts in context, plus an optional challenge.
- Everyone: Sections 1–3.
- Most: Sections 1–4 and the discount problems in Section 5.
- Challenge: Section 6 (12.5%, thirds, and the different-wholes "would you rather").
Hundred grids and number line strips stay on desks — the grid is a strategy, not a crutch. Require all three notations for every conversion question; a single answer does not show the connection.
Teacher table: run the reteach group (identified by the hinge question) with hundred grids, staying on the five benchmarks and physically shading each percentage until students can say "___ per cent means ___ out of 100" unprompted.