Virginia Department of Education
Sales Tax and Tip
Don't forget to tip your server. Future consumers learn how to calculate sales taxes and tips. Pairs use actual restaurant menus to create an order and determine the total bill, including taxes and tips.
Illustrative Mathematics
Tax and Tip
Finding out how to calculate tax and tip is a valuable skill that all young adults should be able to do without a calculator. Learners are given a bill and asked to calculate the tax, tip, and total amount. Calculations can be exact or...
Federal Reserve Bank
Income Taxes
Most adults dread April 15 — tax day! Tax preparation can be intimidating even for adults. Build confidence by leading individuals through the process and then give them a scenario to practice. The exercise uses tax vocabulary to give...
Curated OER
Restaurant Tipping Lesson
What do you do after a good meal, tip the server of course. The class calculates the appropriate tip to leave at a restaurant given certain bills. They identify the bill before and after tax and find the correct tip. A great way to put...
Curated OER
Calculate Percentages
Sixth and seventh graders study the concept of finding the percent of a number. They calculate the percent of any given number. Pupils describe ways to use calculating percents in their daily life, and change percents into decimals,...
Curated OER
Completing Simple Tax Forms
Twelfth graders practice filling out IRS 1040 EZ forms. They discuss various ways people pay taxes. They assess the importance of W-2 forms and apply skills using the IRS tax table to compute how much money is owed or returned.
The New York Times
Understanding the Mathematics of the Fiscal Cliff
What exactly is the fiscal cliff? What are the effects of changing income tax rates and payroll tax rates? Your learners will begin by reading news articles and examining graphs illustrating the "Bush tax cuts" of 2001 and 2003. They...
Illustrative Mathematics
Anna in D.C.
The amount of tax and tip on a restaurant bill is a common example used in percent problems. Here, learners only know the total amount paid, and they need to figure the itemized amounts. Solutions using a ratio table, using knowledge of...
Beyond Benign
Truckin’ to Your Table
Food takes a trip to the table. Class members choose a meal from a menu and calculate the total cost of the meal including tax and tip. Using a food origin card, pupils determine how far each of the ingredients of a meal traveled to end...
Curated OER
Tax, Tip and Discount Word Problems
Young scholars solve problems involving tax, tips and discounts. In this algebra lesson, students convert between percents and decimals. They calculate commission using conversion from percents and fractions.
Curated OER
Go Figure! Using Percents in the Real World
Sixth graders solve sales tax problems. In this solving sales tax problems lesson, 6th graders find the sales tax on various items. Students are given a list of expenses that a family spent on vacation before taxes. Students determine...
Curated OER
Let's Go Shopping with $500
Third graders use a worksheet to budget a five-hundred dollar shopping spree. They select goods to purchase, figure totals and then calculate discounts and sales tax. They compare results to determine who purchased the most for his or...
Curated OER
Family Purchases
Students generate a gift list for their family members making sure the costs remain under budget. They research the cost of items on the internet, calculate sales tax, and determine the total cost for all of the gifts.
PLS 3rd Learning
Monthly Budget & Operating Costs
What teenager wouldn't want a car? But before they make that big purchase, this exercise helps them to understand the costs involved. It includes a worksheet to calculate expenses like taxes and fees, maintenance, gas and insurance, as...
Curated OER
Percents: (An Application to Real Life Problems)
Seventh graders explore the concept of calculating percents. In this calculating percents instructional activity, 7th graders simulate ordering food off of a menu. Students work in groups to calculate the bill, tax, and the tip for the...
Council for Economic Education
Opportunity Cost
The price of those new shoes involves more than just money! Individuals explore the concept of opportunity cost using a video clip and gratification discussions. They prepare a budget based off of their set of values in regards to...
Curated OER
The Taxpayer's Responsibilities
Students explore system of voluntary compliance, and describe taxpayers' responsibilities related to filing a tax return.
Beacon Learning Center
Bowling Over the Order of Operations
Upper graders will solve equations using order of operations, and create equations that to play a fun math bowling game. They will bowl using dice to practice operations. Extensions are also included.
Curated OER
Introductory Excel Lesson involving Problem Solving
Sixth graders analyze an introductory lesson for Microsoft Excel. They go step by step through the creation of a basic spreadsheet and the use of simple formulas in a problem solving format.
Curated OER
Eating on a Budget
Students are "given" $25.00 to spend at a restaurant. Using the Internet, they must "order" a complete 4 course meal while staying within their budget.
Curated OER
Percent in Business
In this percentages worksheet, students solve word problems that include percentages in business. Students complete 14 word problems.
Curated OER
Smoking: The Real Cost
Third graders discuss the adverse effects of smoking and predict the financial cost of a smoking habit. They collect data regarding the cost of a pack of cigarettes and average packs smoked a day. They create bar graphs displaying the...
Curated OER
What's a Per-"cent"?
Students recognize the mathematical connections between fractions and percents. They develop and study graphs to make connections between their data and what it represents. They write about the connections they have discovered.