Here is a receipt from the shop: a sandwich for €4.85 and a bottle of juice for €2.35.

Hands up: what is the total, and how would you set it out so you get it right?

Three money calculations are worked on the board. Watch where the decimal points sit — they line up straight down the middle so the cent column stays over the cent column and the euro column stays over the euro.

Now watch the other two. Read them aloud and be ready to say what you notice in each one.

First we make each amount real with coins and notes so we can see what we are adding. Then we set the sum out in columns and work it one column at a time.

On the screen we add these together:

• Build €4.85 and €2.35 with coins, then add them.
• €12.30 + €7.85.

On the board we work one take-away together:

• Build €6.50, then take €2.85 away.

Say each carry or borrow aloud before we check it.

You pay for a €4.55 lunch with a €10 note. How much change?

Here is €10.00 − €4.55 worked as a column subtraction. There are no cent to take from, so the borrow has to travel from the euro column all the way across the two zeros.