Mathematics · Year 3 · Measurement, Geometry, and Data · Summer Term

Money: Pounds and Pence

Students combine amounts of money, give change, and solve simple money problems.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS2: Mathematics - Measurement

About This Topic

In Year 3, students build practical skills with pounds and pence by combining amounts of money, calculating change from given totals, and solving simple problems in context. They learn to represent values using notes and coins, such as making £3.75 with the fewest possible items or finding change from £5 after spending £2.30. These activities support the National Curriculum's focus on measurement through real-life applications, reinforcing addition and subtraction fluency.

This topic connects money to everyday scenarios like shopping, where students design lists, add costs, and compare options. It develops partitioning strategies and reasoning, preparing for more complex financial maths in later years. Teachers can link it to data handling by recording class 'purchases' or totals.

Active learning benefits this topic greatly because students manipulate real or replica coins and notes during role-play shops or partner challenges. Handling physical money helps them visualise decomposition, such as breaking £2 into 8 x 25p, far better than worksheets alone. Group discussions of strategies clarify thinking and boost confidence in explaining solutions.

Key Questions

1. Explain how to make £3.75 using the fewest possible coins and notes.
2. Calculate the change received from £5 after buying an item for £2.30.
3. Design a shopping list and calculate the total cost.

Learning Objectives

• Calculate the total cost of multiple items when shopping.
• Determine the correct change to be received from a given amount of money.
• Represent a given monetary value using the fewest possible coins and notes.
• Compare the cost of two different items to decide which is cheaper.

Before You Start

Addition and Subtraction within 100

Why: Students need to be fluent with these basic operations to combine money amounts and calculate change.

Place Value to Hundreds

Why: Understanding the value of digits in numbers helps students to correctly interpret and manipulate pounds and pence values.

Key Vocabulary

Pound (£)	The main unit of currency in the United Kingdom. It is represented by the symbol £.
Pence (p)	The subunit of currency in the United Kingdom. 100 pence make up one pound (£1 = 100p).
Combine	To add together different amounts of money to find a total sum.
Change	The money returned to a customer when they pay more than the cost of an item.
Fewest possible	Using the smallest number of coins and notes to make a specific amount of money.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Change is calculated by subtracting coin by coin without efficient partitioning.

What to Teach Instead

Students often match individual coins to the amount rather than using larger denominations. Role-play shops with real money encourages trying multiple methods and peer feedback, helping them discover greedy algorithms work best. Discussions reveal why £3 from £5 uses one £2 and one £1, not five 50p coins.

Common Misconception

£1 equals 100p, but notes over £1 are ignored in favour of only coins.

What to Teach Instead

Children stick to coins even for larger amounts, overlooking notes. Hands-on sorting activities with mixed notes and coins prompt comparisons, such as £5 note versus twenty-five 20p. Partner challenges reinforce using fewest items through trial and sharing efficient solutions.

Common Misconception

Decimal places in money like £2.30 confuse with whole pounds.

What to Teach Instead

Misreading £2.30 as two pounds and thirty pence separately affects addition. Visual aids in group stations, like place value charts for money, clarify during collaborative totals. Active recounting with coins builds accurate mental models.

Active Learning Ideas

Role Play: Classroom Shop

Price everyday classroom items with labels from 20p to £3. Students work in small groups: two as shopkeepers handling totals and change, two as shoppers selecting and paying. Rotate roles every 10 minutes, using replica coins and notes. Debrief on strategies used.

45 min·Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Money Tasks

Create four stations: one for making exact amounts with fewest coins, one for calculating change, one for shopping list totals, and one for word problems. Groups rotate every 10 minutes, recording answers on mini-whiteboards. Provide varied coin sets at each.

40 min·Small Groups

Pairs: Change Challenge

Pairs receive a 'till' with £5 notes and coins. One partner states an item price like £2.30; the other gives change quickly. Switch roles after five turns, timing for fluency. Discuss efficient partitioning methods afterwards.

25 min·Pairs

Whole Class: Shopping Relay

Divide class into teams. Each student runs to board, adds one item from a shared list to running total, then returns. First team to correct total wins. Use projected prices for visibility.

30 min·Whole Class

Real-World Connections

• Children use money daily when buying treats at a local bakery or choosing a toy from a catalogue, needing to count out the correct amount and understand change.
• Families budget for weekly groceries at supermarkets like Tesco or Sainsbury's, comparing prices and calculating the total cost to stay within their spending limits.
• Young people saving up for a new video game or a bicycle will practice combining smaller amounts of money earned from chores or gifts to reach their savings goal.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Present students with a shopping scenario: 'You want to buy a book for £3.45 and a pencil case for £1.20. How much will you spend in total?' Observe students' methods for addition and check their final answer.

Exit Ticket

Give each student a card. On one side, write: 'You pay with a £5 note for an item costing £2.70. How much change do you get?' On the other side, ask: 'Show how to make 95p using the fewest coins.'

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'If you have £1.50, what are three different things you could buy from this pretend shop menu?' Facilitate a class discussion where students share their choices and justify why their chosen items fit within the budget.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you teach making £3.75 with the fewest coins?

Start with a greedy algorithm: use largest notes and coins first, like one £2, one £1, one 50p, two 20p, one 5p. Model on a projector with replica money, then let pairs practise with varied starting amounts. Extend to 'prove it' by listing alternatives and comparing counts. This builds systematic reasoning over 20-30 minutes.

What are effective ways to practise giving change in Year 3?

Use role-play shops where students handle physical money for authentic transactions. Provide tills with mixed denominations and priced items up to £5. Rotate roles to practise both receiving and giving change, followed by pair verification. Track progress with a class chart of successful exchanges to motivate fluency.

How can active learning help students with money problems?

Active approaches like manipulating coins in pairs or running shop relays make abstract partitioning tangible. Students physically combine and decompose amounts, such as trading ten 10p for one £1, which reinforces place value better than paper exercises. Group debriefs encourage articulating strategies, reducing errors and increasing confidence in real contexts over passive worksheets.

How to differentiate money activities for Year 3?

For lower attainers, limit to coins under £1 with visual supports. On-track students handle mixed notes up to £5 with shopping lists. Stretch higher attainers by adding VAT-like percentages or multi-step problems. All levels benefit from the same hands-on stations, adjusting coin sets and timers for challenge.