Support Materials --

Math for All-Plus

Making Connections

During this 30-minute math program you will:

help show your children how much math is involved in shopping
use several real-life activities to help your children understand math
help your children practice using estimation

Activity #1

Finding the Best Buy!
Materials:

Beans
Macaroni or $1.00 denomination play money
Pencil
Paper

In this activity, using beans, macaroni or play money in place of real money, you will help your children guess - estimate - and then figure out which is a better buy, 10% off or $10 off on items that are priced at $50, $100, and $120. Use each bean or piece of macaroni to represent $1.00.
10% off on a $50 jacket:
If a jacket is on sale for 10% off, we can figure out the new price by using beans to represent real money. Make 5 piles of 10 beans each; take one bean (10%) from each pile. Count the number of beans you now have in all of the piles:
50 beans less 5 beans=45 beans. Translating beans into dollars, the new price of the jacket is $45.

$10 off on a $50 jacket:
Figuring out $10 off is easy. Using a pile of 50 beans, take away 10 beans. Count the beans you have left - 50 beans less 10 beans=40 beans. $40 is the new price of the jacket. Which was the best buy - 10% off or $10 off?

Now do the same activity for a stereo priced at $100 and for a bicycle costing $120. Each time, which is the best buy - 10% off or $10 off?

Additional Activities:
Find several products in the newspaper or at the store where the regular price and the "percent" savings are both mentioned, i.e., $20 less 10%. Help your child figure out the new price of the items. How much are you saving per $1.00? Once your child is able to find 10% off, ask how much you save from each dollar if the sale item is 20% off? (Use the beans again, only this time to figure 20% take 2 beans from each pile of 10 beans.) Now, figure the price of a $100 stereo advertised at 25% off. Or find out what you would pay for a $15 tee shirt marked 1/3 off.

Activity #2

Your Wardrobe - Better Than You Think?

Materials:

Copies of the clothing sheet
scissors
pencil
paper
colored pens or crayons (optional)

In this activity you will discover how many different "outfits" you can create with just 4 shirts and 4 pairs of pants. Cut out each shirt and pair of pants - and the 2 vests to use later. (You may color them if you want.) Now guess - estimate - how many different outfits you can make with these 8 items of clothing. Write down your estimate before you start.
Take the pants and shirts or tops and interchange them to create as many outfits as you can. Use the same shirt with several different pants, recording as you go. How many did you make were youclose to your guess? What happens if you add the 2 vests to your wardrobe?

Additional Activities:
At home, take 5 shirts or blouses and several pants or skirts and see how many outfits you can create. Estimate how many you can make before you start. Are the outfits ones you would like to wear to school? Does color and pattern make a difference in how many you can put together? Are color and pattern things you will keep in mind the next time you shop?

Activity #3

How Big Is My Waist?

4 or 5 boxes and 4 or 5 cans of different sizes and shapes
string or yarn for measuring
paper
Pencil

In this activity you and your children will play a game to see who can come the closest to estimating whether the "waist" of an item is larger or smaller than its height. (Estimating is a skill used throughout mathematics and becomes better with practice.) Set out several different size cans and boxes. Choose who will go first at estimating whether the waist of each item is greater or smaller than its height. Write down your estimates before you start. Who was better at estimating the measurements? Can you make this into a family game by seeing who can best estimate the size of each person's waist?