Mathematics

Intermediate

50 mins

Teacher/Student led

Learning Goals

Learning Outcomes

Lesson Files

+80 XP

What you need:
IWB/Projector/Large Screen

Money: Giving Change (a First Look)

Learn what change is and how to find it by counting on from the price up to the money handed over, using coins and simple shopping examples.

Warning: Your screen size is quite small for viewing this. Rotate your device into landscape mode if you can.

1 Getting Started
2 Watch and Notice
3 Try It Together
4 Write the Change in Your Copy
5 Class Challenge
6 What Did We Notice?
7 What's Next
Pupil practice

1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

Illustration for Getting Started A small toy costs 70c. You hand the shopkeeper €1. How much money should you get back?

That money you get back has a special name. What do we call it?

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+5 XP

2 - Watch and Notice ~9 mins

Here are two purchases. For each one we count coins up from the price to the money handed over. Those coins are the change.

First: a sticker costs 80c and is paid for with €1. The display counts on as 90, then 100.

Next: a pencil costs €1.50 and is paid for with €2. The display counts up from €1.50 to €2.

Notice that we never take anything away. We only count up from the price.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+10 XP

3 - Try It Together ~11 mins

Key point

Each time we say the price. Then we count coins up to the money handed over. The coins we add are the change.

Today we work these out together on the board by counting up from the price. First we do a 90c sticker paid with €1. Then a 60c apple paid with €1. Last a €1.20 juice paid with €2.

Count up to find the change

+15 XP

4 - Write the Change in Your Copy ~2 mins

COPYBOOK MOMENT

In your maths copy, write three "cost — paid — change" lines for the examples on the board, filling in the change on each line.

cost 90c — paid €1 — change ___
cost 60c — paid €1 — change ___
cost €1.20 — paid €2 — change ___

Count up from the cost to the money paid to find each change.

+10 XP

5 - Class Challenge ~8 mins

Today we work through four fresh change questions together, each a little harder than the last. Read each story. Decide the money paid. Then count up from the price to find the change.

The method

We start with a 70c pencil paid with €1. Then a €1.40 comic paid with €2. Then a €3 sandwich paid with €5. Finally a €2.40 book paid with €5.

How much change?

+15 XP

Pupil practice

Module 6 · Time and Money Measures

Lesson 73 · Money: Giving Change (a First Look)

Download Activity Book page (PDF)

123learn · Online learning platform

Unlock the full learning experience

You're previewing this lesson. Get full access to this lesson and hundreds more — each one ready to teach, with interactive activities, printable resources and pupil progress tracking built in.

Hundreds of curriculum-aligned lessons

Interactive activities in every lesson

Printable resources & progress tracking

Get started

Copyright Notice
This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2025. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.