Holiday Shopping Math Strategy

Shopping for Christmas bargains offers a great opportunity to help your child understand percentages. Select an item from the 50% off rack. Show your child the label for the original price of the item. Help your child decide what the cost will be with 50% off the original cost. For example: a shirt cost $24.00 before the sale. Now the price is 50% off. To determine the 50% off, multiple the cost times .50 and then subtract the amount from the original price: $24.00 X .50 = $12.00. $24.00- $12.00 = $12.00. So now the shirt costs $12.00. Also show your child that 50% off means the same as “half price”.


Try other percentages with discounts of 20%, 30%, and 40% to practice this math strategy.

Remember to multiple the original cost by the % written in decimal form and then subtract the answer from the original cost to determine the discounted price. Here are a few to practice with:

$40.00 X .20 = $8.00; $40.00 - $8.00 = $32.00 Sale price with 20% off

$40.00 X .30 = $12.00; $40.00 - $12.00 = $28.00 Sale price with 30% off

$40.00 X .40 = $16.00; $40.00 - $16.00 = $24.00 Sale price with 40% off

This activity will give your child practice with multiple-step math problems that he/she will need to know how to do in school. The more practice in real life situations your child experiences, the more likely he/she will be able to complete the problem solving activities on standardized tests.