Teaching article
The receipt adds up, but is the order right?
Compare the receipt against the stated menu and order rather than checking arithmetic alone.
Give the group a fictional receipt with a deliberately mismatched item or quantity. Accurate addition will not catch every error, so children need to compare the record with the menu and order as well.
Match each ordered item to the receipt. Check its quantity and price. Explain a corrected total.
Check the transaction behind the arithmetic
Correctly adding two prices does not fix a receipt that lists an item the customer did not order.
Check the underlying order as well as the arithmetic. A perfectly added receipt can still contain the wrong items or quantities.
Accurate arithmetic can still describe the wrong order. Which source identifies the mismatch?
Highlight one receipt line at a time.
Resources
- Receipt Detective – Australian Money Worksheet — Check the order, quantities and arithmetic in the fictional receipt.
Further reading
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