Mathematics · Grade 6

Active learning ideas

Solving Percent Problems: Finding the Part

Active learning helps students connect abstract percent calculations to concrete, real-life situations they recognize. By working with familiar contexts like shopping and dining, students build confidence and accuracy in solving percent problems through repeated, meaningful practice.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• 6.RP.A.3.C

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Simulation Game
• 45 min · Small Groups

Shopping Simulation: Discount Deals

Provide store flyers or printed ads. In small groups, students select items, calculate percent discounts, and find sale prices. Groups compare totals and justify best buys to the class.

Analyze different strategies for finding a percentage of a number.

Facilitation Tip

During the Shopping Simulation, provide each group with a store flyer and a budget sheet to ensure they record both the original and discounted prices for comparison.

What to look for

Present students with a scenario: 'A store is offering 25% off all shoes. If a pair of running shoes costs $80, how much is the discount?' Ask students to show their calculation and write the final discount amount.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Simulation Game
• 30 min · Pairs

Tip Calculator Pairs: Meal Budgets

Pairs receive meal bills. They calculate 15-20% tips using different strategies, add to totals, and predict change from given cash. Switch roles and verify partner's work.

Construct a real-world problem that requires finding the part given the whole and a percent.

Facilitation Tip

For the Tip Calculator Pairs, give each student a role card with a meal total and a tip guideline to encourage discussion about reasonable tip amounts.

What to look for

Give each student a card with a different percentage and whole number (e.g., 10% of $75, 50% of $120). Ask them to calculate the part and write one sentence explaining the strategy they used.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Simulation Game
• 40 min · Small Groups

HST Impact Stations: Rotation

Set up stations with grocery lists. Groups calculate 13% HST on subtotals, compare pre- and post-tax costs, and graph impacts. Rotate stations, adding one new item each time.

Evaluate the impact of sales tax or tips on total cost using percentages.

Facilitation Tip

At the HST Impact Stations, place labeled price tags and tax receipts at each station so students can physically move and see the impact of tax on different items.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you have $50 to spend. You want to buy a book that costs $30, and there's a 10% sales tax. How much money will you have left after buying the book?' Facilitate a discussion where students share their strategies for calculating the tax and the final cost.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Simulation Game
• 35 min · Small Groups

Percent Problem Relay: Teams

Teams line up. First student solves a percent problem on board, tags next for chained problem. Correct answers advance; discuss errors as a class.

Analyze different strategies for finding a percentage of a number.

Facilitation Tip

In the Percent Problem Relay, assign each team a different problem card with increasing complexity to keep the activity fast-paced and engaging.

What to look for

Present students with a scenario: 'A store is offering 25% off all shoes. If a pair of running shoes costs $80, how much is the discount?' Ask students to show their calculation and write the final discount amount.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach students to interpret percents as fractions first, converting to decimals before multiplying. Avoid teaching shortcuts like moving the decimal without understanding why. Use visual models like grids or fraction strips to reinforce the relationship between percents, decimals, and parts of a whole. Research shows that students who connect percents to visual representations retain the concept longer.

Students will accurately calculate the part using percents in real-world scenarios. They will explain their reasoning using both percentage and decimal methods, and check their work against practical outcomes like discounts and taxes.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Shopping Simulation, watch for students multiplying the whole by the percent number directly, for example calculating 25 x 100 = 2500 for 25% of 100.

  Provide a price tag with a $100 item and ask students to first convert 25% to 0.25 or 25/100, then multiply. Have them compare their answers to the realistic discount on the tag to correct the misconception.

• During the Tip Calculator Pairs, watch for students applying the tip to the original bill instead of the final total.

  Ask pairs to write out the sequence: subtotal, tax, total, then tip on the total. Have them peer-check each other's receipts to catch this error before finalizing their tip amount.

• During the HST Impact Stations, watch for students assuming tax applies to the original price even after a discount is applied.

  Place a sticky note on each price tag with the discounted price and ask students to calculate tax only on that amount. Use the station materials to physically cross out the original price to reinforce the correct sequence.

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Methods used in this brief

• Simulation Game