Measurement Resources

Our Giving Change {Australian Money} will make counting back change a breeze for your Year 3 students. A must-have Hands-on, interactive shopping game for the BEST Ever Lesson on learning to count change to the nearest five cents!

Have you noticed that teaching Kids about money and giving change {Australian Money} is getting more and more difficult? ….We have too!

In this post, we will share with you what you need to teach your students about shopping and giving change,  and our favourite Hands-on Australian Money Printables.

We’ve had many a discussion with other teachers about this and agree that it’s because kids get less and less opportunity to use, handle and even see real Australian coins and notes being used in daily life! 

We live in a cashless society, where the majority of shopping transactions are made electronically using plastic cards and EFTPOS machines.

Physical money very rarely changes hands! We’re not using cash to pay for our purchases and we are NOT getting any change back either, and this has a HUGE impact on our students’ skills and confidence with Money. 

So Teachers, having a class shop may be fun,  but you’ve got your work cut out for you when it comes to teaching your kids to count the change required for simple transactions to the nearest five cents.

Let’s take a look at what you need to teach…

Teaching Giving Change {Australian Money}

The best way to learn about change is by using Role-play shopping situations that involve tendering cash and receiving change. Using play money and even number lines is useful for building an understanding of working out the change due.

Students need to know that Change is: 

• The amount you have overpaid when you don’t pay with the exact amount of money
• It’s the difference between the money you give the cashier and the price of your purchase
• Change is worked out by counting up from the cost price to the amount you have given the cashier

e.g. a book that costs $2.70 you give the cashier a $5 note.

To work out the change the student starts counting back the coins as they count 

• give back 20 cents and say “two dollars ninety”
• then give back 10c and say: three dollars
• Next, give back a $2 coin and say “five dollars”

Using play money, shopping catalogues and setting up a shop is the best way to develop giving change, so don’t be tempted to show students an algorithm before they’ve tried it hands-on.  

With this in mind, we’ve created a range of “Money Play Centres” that encourage these transactions so your students will be working out the change in no time.

Giving Change Money Games

With these pretend shop money games everyone can play shops!

Everyone wants to be playing shops at the same time, and things can get a little prickly while the kids are waiting for their turn. So we created these fun pretend play packs to practise shopping & giving changes.

Use in small groups or individuals. To play Students:

1. First, pick a shopping basket & load it onto the checkout
2. Next, they match the cost of the shopping in words to the price tag
3. Pay the cashier
4. Count back the change using play money and the student working out sheets to help them
5. Complete the student sheet (so you can track their understanding)
6. Go shopping again!

They’re the perfect addition to your math rotations and class shop. Download ALL the different variations and themes.