I want the plan to focus on Understanding how to find amounts of change (make it a physical activity lesson)

Create a success criteria for this lesson

Create a high engaging introduction and a range of questioning for this maths lesson Identify common misconceptions and areas of difficulty for Understanding how to find amounts of change (make it a physical activity lesson)

Create use of Layered targeted whole class questions- Questions shouldn't just ask for the correct answer they should require pupils to explain their thinking justifying their reasoning. (Use Bloom's taxonomy to help create questions beyond basic thinking and encourage deeper thinking)

Create an example for children to copy into books and use to support work

Include AfL points throughout teaching and modelling stage ( tell me What AfL to use, where to use it?) Modelling

Plan a task that gradually increases in complexity, e.g. by adding more elements pupils need to think about or having them apply what they have been taught to different situations.

plenary

Align with White Rose Maths Scheme

National Curriculum Reference

Mathematics - Year 4 (Number - Money)

Pupils should be taught to:
- Solve problems involving increasingly harder numbers, including money and giving change (£ and p).
- Use precise mathematical language to reason and explain their thinking.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, pupils will:

Understand how to calculate the amount of change from a payment.
Use subtraction skills to find change in real-life contexts involving money.
Articulate their mathematical reasoning and justify answers.
Engage physically with money-related problems to deepen understanding.

Success Criteria

Pupils will be able to:

Accurately subtract amounts to find change in practical problems.
Explain their methods clearly and justify their reasoning.
Recognise when a calculation or amount doesn’t make sense and correct it.
Apply skills in increasingly complex situations involving multiple step problems.

Lesson Overview

Duration: 45 minutes
Class Size: 30 pupils
Resources:

Play money (coins and notes) or printed money cards
Price tags for classroom ‘shop’ items (use classroom objects or printed pictures with price labels)
Whiteboards and markers or maths books
Pencils

Introduction (10 minutes)

Engage pupils actively with a ‘Shop game’ to physically demonstrate giving change.

Activity:
Set up a small ‘shop’ in the classroom with 5-6 items labelled with prices between £1 and £5, including some pence values (e.g., £3.20, £4.75). Divide class into groups of 5.

One pupil acts as the shopper, the others as shopkeepers. Shopper is given a certain amount of money (e.g. £5) and chooses an item. Their task is to calculate how much change they should get from shopkeepers.

Key Questions (Layered & Bloom’s Taxonomy-based):

Remembering: What operation do we use to find out how much change to give? (Subtraction)
Understanding: Why do we subtract the cost of the item from the money given?
Applying: If your item costs £3.75 and you pay £5, how much change should you get?
Analysing: If the change you receive is £1.50, does that make sense? Why or why not?
Evaluating: If a shopper gave £2 for something costing £2.30, what would you do? What mistake happened?
Creating: Can you think of a quick way to check your change is correct before accepting it?

Physical element: Pupils physically give and receive money during the role-play, encouraging movement and real-world maths application.

Modelling & Teaching (10 minutes)

Use a whiteboard to model a simple example linked to the shop game:
Example:
"You buy a book costing £3.45, and you pay with £5. How much change do you get?"

Write it as:
£5.00 – £3.45 = ?
Show subtraction by breaking down pounds and pence stepwise:
- £5.00 - £3.00 = £2.00
- £2.00 - £0.40 = £1.60
- £1.60 - £0.05 = £1.55
Ask pupils to write this example in their books, modelling neat layout for subtraction with money.
Use AfL strategies here:
- Mini whiteboard quiz: Ask pupils to show the change for £4.50 item paid with £10. Check responses and select 2-3 pupils to explain their method.
- Think-Pair-Share: Pupils discuss with a partner why the method works.

Common Misconceptions & Difficulties

Confusing pounds and pence (treating 50p as 0.50 or misunderstanding decimals).
Forgetting to convert properly between pounds and pence within subtraction.
Misreading prices or payment values.
Not lining up decimal places correctly in subtraction.
Assuming change can be negative (giving less money than the price).
Calculating change without double-checking and accepting unreasonable answers.

Task: Progressive Change Challenges (15 minutes)

Instructions: Pupils work in pairs to solve tasks using play money or number lines to support.

Basic: Item cost £2.60, paid with £5. Find change.
Moderate: Item cost £4.75, paid with £10. Calculate change.
Complex: Buy two items costing £3.40 and £2.85; pay with £10. How much change?
Real-World Application: You have £7.50 and buy a snack costing £3.20. You also want to buy a drink costing £2.15. How much money will you have left?

Physical element: Pupils physically exchange coins/table tokens to represent change. Encourage walking around to check peers’ work and explain reasoning.

AfL during task:

Teacher circulates, asking pupils: “Explain how you found the change” or “What strategy did you use for the two-item problem?”
Observe common errors, prompt pupils to self-correct and rationalise answers.

Plenary (10 minutes)

Whole-class Discussion: Regroup and reflect on the activity.

Questions for deeper thinking:

Which was the hardest part about finding change? Why?
How can you check your answers quickly if you don’t have coins?
Why is it important to understand how to give and find change in real life?
Can you think of other situations where you might need this skill?

Invite 3-4 pupils to explain their thinking and reasoning aloud, encouraging use of precise vocabulary ('subtraction', 'pounds and pence', 'estimate').

Final Quick Quiz: Using mini whiteboards, teacher calls out prices and payments, pupils write change and hold up answers. Select a few for justification.

Assessment for Learning Opportunities

During introduction: Use questioning and observation in the shop game to see who grasps the concept of subtraction for change.
During modelling: Use mini whiteboard answers to check understanding of subtraction across pounds and pence.
During task: Use paired talk and teacher questioning to gauge reasoning processes, listening for misconceptions.
Plenary quiz: Quick formative check on retention and articulation.

Alignment with White Rose Maths

This lesson supports White Rose Maths Year 4 Block 4: Money and Problem Solving with money, embedding concrete, pictorial, and abstract approaches and encouraging reasoning and problem solving as recommended by the scheme.

Example for Pupils to Copy

Item Price	Amount Paid	Change Calculation	Change Given
£3.45	£5.00	£5.00 - £3.45 = £1.55	£1.55

Model layout:

Start line with total paid.
Subtract pounds first, then pence in steps.
Write the final amount clearly.

WOW Features for Teachers

Fully physical, kinesthetic learning via a classroom shop role-play to meet active learning strategies.
Deep questioning built around Bloom’s Taxonomy to push beyond rote answers towards reasoning and justification.
Built-in AfL for instant daily feedback and misconception correction.
Scaffolded task progression from simple to multi-step change problems improving mathematical fluency.
Clear linking to real-world maths enhances engagement and retention.

This plan is ready to wow and inspire teachers looking for a fresh interactive way to deliver a vital Year 4 maths skill.

Calculating Change Actively

Teaching Instructions