How Much Money?
With Book Week around the corner, why not bring a little book shopping into your maths warm-up? This Maths warm up gets students exploring different book prices, working with money, and discovering that there's more than one way to solve a problem!
How It Works
Present this Book Week-themed challenge to your class:
For Book Week, I went to the bookstore and purchased 3 books. The total cost was $15. How much might each book have cost if all 3 were different amounts?
Challenge students to find as many possible combinations as they can. Encourage them to explain their thinking and compare their answers with their classmates.
Want to Make It Harder?
Add extra conditions to keep students thinking!
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Example 1: What if all 3 books had different decimal values? (e.g. $2.40, $5.50, $7.10)
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Example 2: What if one book cost double the price of another, and the third book cost less than $3? (e.g. $4.50, $9.00, $1.50)
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Example 3: What if the cost of two books added together was exactly the same as the cost of the third book? (e.g. $3.00, $4.50, $7.50)
There's more than one way to solve this problem, so encourage students to share their combinations and explain how they know their totals are correct.
Want to Take It Even Further?
Turn the warm-up into a Book Week-themed maths investigation!
Give students a $30 budget and ask them to choose 3 books they think their favourite book character would love.
They must calculate the total cost, their change from $30, and explain why they chose these books.
Why It's So Good
• Builds money skills, mental maths, and problem-solving abilities.
• Encourages flexible thinking as students explore different combinations and solutions.
• Develops addition, decimal operations, and budgeting skills in a meaningful context.
• Sparks mathematical discussions as students compare answers and explain their reasoning.
• Connects maths with Book Week, making learning more engaging and relevant.
So, if you're looking for a quick, no-prep maths warm-up to squeeze into your Book Week plans, give How Much Money? a try! It's a lovely little way to bring books and maths together while getting your students thinking, sharing, and justifying their answers.
