Math // Measurement

Giving Change

Add and subtract amounts of money to give change, using both £ and p in practical contexts

Ages
7 to 8
Type
Method
Builds on
2 topics
Leads to
1 topic
Standards
1 code

Quick check

If the learner buys a book for £3.50 and a pencil for £1.25 with a £5 note, can they work out exactly how much change they should receive?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Calculate the total cost of two or three items priced in pounds and pence
  • Work out the change from £5 or £10
  • Record money calculations using £ and p notation correctly (e.g. £3.47)

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

2 topics

You are here

Giving Change

Ages 7 to 8 // Method

Leads to

1 topic

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

Year 3 learners (age 7–8) total two or three items priced in pounds and pence, give change from a £5 or £10 note, and record amounts correctly (e.g. £3.47). The reliable route to change from a note is counting UP from the total spent to the note (finding the difference), not column subtraction across zeros. The central hazard is treating £.p as two separate whole numbers ('string-length thinking'); learners must exchange 100p for £1 and treat each amount as one quantity. Note: the National Curriculum's non-statutory notes and guidance for Year 3 say pupils record £ and p separately, and formal decimal recording of money is introduced in Year 4, so teach the £3.47 form carefully alongside its pence-and-pounds meaning.

Common misconceptions

  • 'String-length thinking' — treats £ and p as two separate whole numbers (adds the pence column past 100 without exchanging, or writes £3.7 for £3 and 70p).
  • Notation errors — omits the decimal point, mixes units (£3.47p), or writes pence as if pounds.
  • Attempts change from £10 by column subtraction and makes 'take smaller from larger' / subtract-across-zeros errors instead of counting up.
  • 'Most coins = most money' persists, and reading '£2.47' as 'two point forty-seven' reinforces the two-separate-numbers error.

Useful representations

  • Empty number line for counting-on change from a note
  • Real coins/notes with 100p→£1 exchange
  • Part–whole (bar) model: note = total cost + change
  • Place-value columns (£ | tenths/10p | hundredths/1p) shown aligned by the decimal point

Teaching practices

  • Find change from £5/£10 by counting UP from the total spent to the note (e.g. spent £4.45 → +5p to £4.50 → +50p to £5.00; change 55p), shown on an empty number line — avoids error-prone column subtraction across zeros.
  • Establish 100p = £1 concretely and insist that £ and p are one quantity, not two whole numbers; exchange 100 pennies for a £1 coin so the equivalence is enacted.
  • Use the part–whole structure for multi-item change: total the items first (the parts), then the note is the whole and change is the missing part.
  • Model and contrast correct vs incorrect notation explicitly (£3.47, not £347, 3.47p or £3.47p); have pupils see, say and record amounts in more than one way.
  • Encourage estimation before calculating (≈£4.50 spent, so change is small) so unreasonable answers are caught, and read amounts in a place-value-honest way rather than as two separate numbers.

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Shop till: total, pay, and count change up

    Why it works: Change from a note is a short counting-on jump from the total to the note, and an amount in pounds and pence is ONE quantity because 100p exchanges for £1.

    1. Choose two or three priced items (e.g. a £2.60 car and a £1.85 book) and total them, building the total step by step (£2.60 + £1.85 = £4.45).
    2. Pay with a £5 note and work out the change by counting UP from the total to the note, drawing each jump on an empty number line: £4.45 → +5p → £4.50 → +50p → £5.00, so change is 55p.
    3. Collect the change as actual coins into a tray; when the pennies/pence in the tray reach 100p, physically exchange them for a single £1 coin and re-read the amount as one quantity.
    4. Repeat for a single £3.47 item paid with a £5 note: count up £3.47 → £3.50 → £4.00 → £5.00 = £1.53.
    5. Record the change in £ and p notation (e.g. £0.55, 55p), then say the amount in a place-value-honest way suitable for Year 3 (e.g. 'fifty-five pence'); avoid reading the pence as a compound whole number joined to the pounds (e.g. 'three point forty-seven' for £3.47). Reading the digits separately ('nought point five five') is also acceptable and is the decimal reading the cited research recommends.
  2. 2

    Record it right: correct versus incorrect money notation

    Why it works: Money notation carries meaning: the decimal point separates pounds from pence, £ and p are never written together, and the written amount must match the value of the coins.

    1. For a given amount of coins in a tray, write the amount in £ and p and check it against the coins.
    2. Compare correct and incorrect recordings side by side (e.g. £0.55 vs £0.55p vs £55) and decide which one matches the coins, explaining how you know.
    3. Record the same amount in more than one correct way where sensible (e.g. 55p and £0.55) and explain they are equal.
    4. Practise see–say–record: see the coins, say the amount place-value-honestly, then write it without ever joining £ and p (never £3.47p).
  3. 3

    Estimate first, then check for sense

    Why it works: Estimating before calculating catches unreasonable answers, and change from a note can always be checked by rebuilding the note.

    1. Before calculating change, estimate: 'I spent about £4.50, so the change should be small.'
    2. After finding change, compare it with the estimate and say whether the answer is reasonable.
    3. Verify change by counting it back onto the total to rebuild the note.
    4. When paying with a £10 note instead of £5, predict how the change will differ and decide whether counting up or column subtraction would be easier.

Topic // Standards

Curriculum standards

Codes for the curriculum statements this topic maps to. Each publisher owns its standard text.
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document
Ma/KS2/Y3/M/3

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