Tipping + Splitting the Bill | Receipts, Percent + Money Math

Tipping + Splitting the Bill: a functional reading and math set for high school life skills, special education, and transition programs. Read the receipt, find 10 percent, figure the tip, and split it fairly.

Why I made this: Students watch adults pay at restaurants all the time, but nobody explains what happens on that little slip. Tipping and splitting a check come up the first time a group of friends goes out to eat. A couple of simple tricks, like finding 10 percent first, turn it into math students can do at the table without a calculator.

How it is different from my Money Math Task Cards: Money Math has no tipping and no percent. This set is only about the restaurant check: subtotal, tax, a printed tip guide, 10, 15, and 20 percent with mental math, and splitting it fairly.

What's included:

• A teacher page: why I made it, how to use both levels, and the skills covered

• Words to know: 10 key words, each with a picture

• 2 pages of practice documents: three restaurant receipts (one with a printed tip guide, one for a group of four, one with separate orders), plus a tip tricks card and a tipping guide. All businesses, names, and numbers are made up.

• 12 Level A questions, each with a picture and three answer choices

• The same 12 questions at Level B, with open answers and room to show the math

• A real-life task: figure the tip and split a group receipt four ways, then fill in a card slip

• An answer key that shows where to find each answer

How I use it: Read through the practice documents together, then give each student the level that fits. Both levels ask the same questions, so the whole class can check answers together. I use the real-life task as a wrap-up or right before a community outing.

Skills covered: reading a receipt: subtotal, tax, and total; reading a printed tip guide; finding 10%, 15%, and 20% with mental math; adding the tip to the total; splitting a bill evenly; finding what each person ordered; filling in the tip line on a card slip.

Part of the Functional Life Skills series: every set uses the same layout (words, real-looking documents, two levels of the same questions, and a real-life task), so students know the routine when you move to the next set.

Pairs well with:

• Life Skills Money Math Task Cards (change and receipts)

• Reading a Pay Stub (more real-life money reading)

Who it is for: high school life skills and special education classes, transition programs for ages 18 to 21, and adult education. Grades 9 to 12 and adult transition.

What you download: one printable PDF, 10 pages, US Letter. Answer key included.

From the author of The Transition Map (Jeremy D. Gooch), available in paperback and Kindle.

Written by Jeremy D. Gooch, a teacher with 20+ years in education. All businesses, names, and numbers are made up.