Five pages about how saving a little at a time adds up. Page 1 has five savers, each saving the same amount every week: students fill in an 8-week table by counting on, find the week a total is reached, and work out the total after 10 weeks. The first table is done as an example. Page 2 shows a jar that gets a $5, $10 or $20 bill every week: write the total under each jar, then keep the pattern going to week 5 and week 10 and find the week a total is reached. On page 3 students count in a strip of ten weeks to find how long it takes to reach a goal, like a $20 teddy bear at $4 a week; one goal is not reached exactly, so it takes one more week. Page 4 compares two savers in a table (one starts with more money) and in four story problems: who saves more, and how much more. Page 5 has savings plans for five reasons (a bike, college, a gift, an emergency and giving to others) with a missing total, amount or number of weeks, shows how saving every week beats saving only what is left over, and ends with a plan of the student's own.
Before page 1, put a $5 bill of play money in a clear jar for each day of the week and count the total together. Ask the class what they would save for and list the reasons on the board: something big, college, a gift, an emergency, giving to others. For page 4, act out the two savers with play money: one starts with $10 and adds $2 a week, the other starts with nothing and adds $5, and watch when the second one passes the first.
Choose something your child wants and find its price together. Decide how much to save each week, then mark each week on a calendar and count how long it will take. Keep the savings in a clear jar so your child can see it grow, and talk about why saving the same amount every week works better than saving only what is left.
This pack supports the following Common Core State Standards for Mathematics:
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How saving a little at a time adds up, week by week. Students fill in savings tables, count the weeks to reach a goal, compare two savers, and finish savings plans for five reasons to save before making their own.
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