Background

By the end of Key Stage 2 children should be able to recognise all coins and notes. They should understand and use decimal notation for tenths and hundredths in context; for example be able to order amounts of money and round a sum of money to the nearest pound.

In answering money problems they should choose, use and combine any of the four number operations and work on problems involving numbers in 'real life' contexts. The problems should involve one or more steps, and include converting pounds to foreign currency, or vice versa, and calculating percentages such as VAT.

As part of the Year 6 outcomes, children should be able to decide whether to solve problems mentally or with pencil and paper or a calculator. They should also be able to explain their methods and reasoning.

If children are using calculators, remember to remind them that calculators display amounts of money that are multiples of 10p differently from the way we write them e.g. £19.60 displays as 19.6.

Key Vocabulary

By the end of Key Stage 2 children should be able to recognise and use the following vocabulary:

money, coin, note, pence, penny, pound, £
dollar, euro, franc, lira...
price, cost, change
pay, buy, sell, sale
dear, costs more, more expensive/ most expensive
cheap, costs less, cheaper, less expensive/ least expensive
value, amount, how much…?
discount, cost price, selling price, profit, loss, interest, interest rate

Model for a lesson on solving word problems

This is one possible plan for a lesson. Try to vary your teaching strategies and provide a variety of warm up activities. Make use of ICT in your classroom: use a projector or OHP and whiteboard to show written examples of quick fire questions (as an alternative to verbal question and answer sessions) and to show children's workings, use some of the web based resources suggested below.

Resources needed:

Own examples of money problems or use (link to) Money worksheet 5
Money problems using real life examples includes reading tables and bar charts and the four operations + - x ÷

Oral and mental starter

· Warm up activity. Use ideas from (link to ) Mental Maths Ideas
· Involve all children
· Emphasise key vocabulary (see above).

Main part of lesson

This will probably be shorter than the usual main part of a Numeracy lesson because of the extended plenary.

· Work through a couple of problems with the whole class, stressing the strategies used.
· Ask children to work individually on a set of number word problems.
· Sometimes give problems orally, sometimes in writing.

Plenary

The extended plenary will form the longest part of the lesson.

Ask a child to read one of the problems. Discuss how to interpret it. What do particular words or symbols mean? Can you ask the same question in a different way, or using different words?

Ask a child to explain, using the board/OHP how she/he tried to solve the problem. Who used the same method? Who used a different method? Or a shorter method?

Discuss other children's answers. Sort out any differences. Could you take fewer steps? Could you use a calculator? How can you check your answer? Does it make sense? Do you understand where you went wrong?

Pick out one or two more problems to discuss in detail.

Only give the answers to the other problems - this is more worthwhile than that a brief discussion of every question.

Resources

New BGfL interactive activity: Money Boxes
This activity can be played by one or two players. It provides practice in multiplying amounts of money and has five different levels covering the skills and knowledge required by the end of Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4.

These worksheets are provided to cover other requirements of money at Key Stage 2. There are also ideas for mental Maths questions. These can be printed out and used in the classroom as additional support.

Money worksheet 1: Ordering money, money notation and money equivalence
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Answers

Money worksheet 2: More examples of ordering money, money notation, and money equivalence
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Answers

Money worksheet 3: Translating amounts of money from words in notation e.g. two pounds twenty pence to £2.20
Part 1
Answers

Money worksheet 4: Rounding off to nearest pound and nearest ten pounds.
Part 1
Answers

Money worksheet 5: Money problems using real life examples includes reading tables and bar charts and the four operations + - x ÷
Part 1 & 2
Part 3, 4 & 5
Part 6
Part 7, 8, 9 & 10
Answers

Mental Maths Ideas for use in class
Answers

Web Links:
Some links to sites that will prove useful in the classroom as part of a Numeracy lesson or a booster session.

DfEE National Numeracy Strategy

Progression of money from reception to year 7

Learn.co.uk site lesson on money
It covers notation of money, rounding off, calculations, problem solving and a test.

BBC KS2 Revise Wise site on problem solving
Although it isn't specifically on money it has a very good lesson on the skills required to understand and solve problems.

Simple currency converter

Analysis of KS2 Numeracy SATS 2001

Lemonade Larry
An American site which therefore uses cents, so it's useful for practising multiplication skills in a foreign currency.

Software

Toy Shop - this is part of the Using ICT in Mathematics pack sent to all primary schools. It is a game of strategy for two players (or groups of players). Players take turns to select a coin to pay towards the cost of the displayed toy. The winner is the player who lays down the coin to make up the exact cost of the toy. There are three levels of the game available. The first level uses values up to 19p, the second level uses values up to 99p and the third level uses values up to £2.49.