Five pages on adding sales tax in Canada. The rate depends on the province (5% GST in some, a 13% or 15% HST in others), so every problem gives its rate. Page 1 is a table of building blocks: 10% of a price (move each digit one place to the right), 5% (half of 10%) and 1% (a tenth of 10%), then 13% as 10% and three lots of 1%, and 15% as 10% and 5%. On page 2 children find the tax on one price and add it on; twice the tax comes to a half cent, which rounds up (5% of $12.30 is 61.5¢, so 62¢). Page 3 is about estimating: round each price to the nearest dollar, find 10% of the estimate first, then the tax at the given rate and the total, and decide whether the money is enough. In one story the money covers the prices but not the tax. Page 4 has four receipts to complete with the subtotal, the sales tax and the total. Page 5 is a toy store: children add the things bought, add the tax, round the total to the nearest 5¢ to pay cash (Canada has no pennies) and find the change from a bill. The first problem on each page is worked as an example.
Before page 1, ask what 10% of $20 is and why it is the same as dividing by 10. Build 5% and 1% from it together, then 13% and 15%. Talk about why the rate is different in different provinces, and look up your own. On page 3, ask why an estimate of the prices alone is not enough to know whether the money will pay. Page 4 works well with real receipts: find the subtotal, the tax line and the total, and check the tax with the building blocks.
Look at a store receipt together and find the subtotal, the tax and the total. Ask your child to estimate the tax with 10% before you check it. When you shop, round the prices to the nearest dollar, add them, then add the tax to see whether the money you have is enough.
This pack supports the following Common Core State Standards for Mathematics:
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Shopping in Canadian dollars and cents with sales tax added, at the rate given in each problem, as rates differ from province to province. Students find 10%, 5% and 1% of a price, build the tax from them, estimate before they buy, complete receipts and find the change from a cash payment.
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