Incoming 6th Grade Math Summer Assignment
Go Shopping for Decimal Practice!
Here's an activity that will get your attention with a back-to-school shopping spree. The
catch? You'll have to use decimal skills to add, subtract, multiply, and divide your way to a
new wardrobe! This activity can easily be substituted with restaurant take-out menus,
grocery coupons, or any kind of catalog, for summer math practice that will add up!
What You Need:
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Your favorite clothing catalogs/take-out menus/grocery coupons/any catalog
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Pencil
Paper
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Markers
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Cardstock or construction paper
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Glue
….anything else you might need to make your book as exciting as possible!
What You Do:
Read through the catalog(s). Point out items you like and remember to look for the items
that are on sale! (If you are using a catalog)
You can shop for your own clothes this year, but only if you stay within a certain budget.
You will be given a $350 budget. You'll need to use addition, subtraction, multiplication,
and division. Pay attention to place value. Get the most out of your back to school budget!
Addition- To add up the items that you are considering buying, you should line up all the
decimal points in order to correctly compute the total cost. For example: $29.99 +
$45.00 +$14.99 = $89.98.
Subtraction - To find out how much money is still left in the budget, your child will have to
subtract what he has already planned to spend from the total budget. As with addition, he
should first line up the decimal points before solving the subtraction problem. For
example: $100.00 - $89.98 = $10.02.
Multiplication - Do you want to get more than one of the same item? You should solve
multiplication with decimal problems in the same manner that you normally solve
multiplication problems, but you must remember to move the decimal point over in your
answer as many places as are in the problem. For example: $14.99 x 3 = $44.97.
Division - If you would like to ask a parent/guardian to chip in for part of the back-toschool budget, or you are splitting it between parents or others, you will have to use
division. Division with decimals simply requires you to include a decimal point in your answer
directly above the decimal point in the dividend (the number being divided). For example:
If a 3-pair pack of socks cost $12.99, how much would one pair cost? ($12.99 ÷ 3 = $4.33).
Once you have collected all of your data and performed each operation, you are to present
the information in a book. Each page should show a specific operation that you have done
(one page for addition, one page of subtraction, etc.)
On another page, you should reflect on your spending. If you chose to use a catalog, talk
about the difference between buying an item on sale or at full price. Calculate both totals,
and express why buying an item on sale could be more beneficial to your budget.
If you are choosing to use a menu, come up with a situation in which you ordered specific
items, but your bill was not calculated correctly. For example: You are dining with your
family at your favorite restaurant. You order three hamburgers with French fries at
$6.50 each, one Caesar salad at $535, three iced teas at $1.29 each, a lemonade at $1.39,
and four desserts at $3.99 each. When you receive your bill, you discover that you’ve been
charged for an extra hamburger and an extra iced tea. Correct your bill to get an accurate
total. Then, write a comment to the restaurant manager, expressing your concern
regarding the restaurant’s miscalculation and document how you corrected the error.
**A few ideas – Your book can be created by folding paper in half and stapling the crease
of the folds together. You can also use a three-hole puncher to attach your pages with
ribbon or string. A binder, or clear front report cover may be used as well.
All information must be presented in a way that makes sense. Be creative, include pictures
of items as well as their prices, and most importantly, show all your work.