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Shopping for Snacks Math Activity

Partners draw priced snack cards, record coin combinations to pay for each item and add their purchases to find a total.
Grades
Grades 2–3, Elementary
Pages
3
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated Sep 27, 2026

Subject
Math, Counting, Early Math, Money
Topic
Task cards, Math stations
Resource types
Activities
Preparation
Print ready
Standards
2.MD.A.8

Product description

From the author

The Shopping for Snacks Math Activity is a fun way for students to practice with counting money.

Students will cut apart the snack cards and place them in a small paper bag.

Partners should take turns picking food items. They should record their items and prices on the Shopping for Snacks record sheet.

Students then need to record the coins they would pay with and figure out the total cost of their purchase.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Read a price written in dollars-and-cents notation and copy it accurately onto a record sheet

  • Choose a set of coins that makes a given amount, including amounts over a dollar such as $1.60 and $1.90

  • Take turns in a partner routine, showing a partner how a purchase would be paid for rather than only writing the answer

Teaching tips

  • Cut the twelve cards and place them in a small paper bag.
  • Provide coins or coin manipulatives so partners can demonstrate payments.
  • Check coin combinations before calculating the purchase total.

Skills covered

  • Reading dollar-and-cent notation
  • Selecting coins to match a price
  • Adding a list of money amounts

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Can children who find the addition hard still take part?

Yes - the Teacher Tips page says a calculator can be used to find the total depending on student ability, so the coin-choosing work carries on while the totalling is supported.

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Curriculum

Standards, concepts & topics

Standards

  • 2.MD.A.8

Core concepts

  • Counting money

  • Adding money

  • Coins

  • Decimal notation

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