Cart Cashier Task Cards
Cart Cashier Task Cards
Cut along the dotted lines. Use the recording sheet to show your work and answers.
Cards A–D
A
Bakery Bliss
General Store
Itemized Tag Price
1x Cinnamon Roll $2.45
1x Blueberry Muffin $1.80
The Scenario:
At the bakery counter, Silas buys a cinnamon roll and a blueberry muffin. He pays the clerk with a $5.00 bill.
Cashier Task:
What is his total cost, and how much change will he receive?
B
Toy Trunk
General Store
Itemized Tag Price
1x Wooden Yo-Yo $3.15
1x Retro Sticker Pack $1.50
The Scenario:
Mabel picks out a wooden yo-yo and a sheet of retro stickers. She hands the store cashier a crisp $10.00 bill.
Cashier Task:
What is her total cost, and how much change will she receive?
C
Soda Fountain
General Store
Itemized Tag Price
1x Cherry Cola $1.75
1x Chocolate Milkshake $3.60
The Scenario:
Jasper orders a cold cherry cola and a thick chocolate milkshake from the soda fountain counter. He pays with a $10.00 bill.
Cashier Task:
What is his total bill, and what is his change back?
D
Produce Patch
General Store
Itemized Tag Price
1x Red Apple $0.85
1x Bunch of Bananas $1.20
1x Pint of Strawberries $2.95
The Scenario:
Penny selects a sweet apple, a bunch of yellow bananas, and a pint of fresh strawberries. She pays the clerk with a $10.00 bill.
Cashier Task:
What is her total grocery cost, and how much change is returned?
Cart Cashier Task Cards
Cut along the dotted lines. Use the recording sheet to show your work and answers.
Cards E–H
E
Candy Corner
General Store
Itemized Tag Price
3x Giant Gumdrops $0.45 ea.
1x Big Lollipop $1.10
The Scenario:
Arthur buys 3 giant gumdrops and 1 big cherry lollipop. He pays the cashier at the counter with a crisp $5.00 bill.
Cashier Task:
What is his total candy price, and what is his change?
F
Book Nook
General Store
Itemized Tag Price
1x Vintage Notebook $4.25
1x Box of Drawing Pencils $2.10
The Scenario:
Clara selects a durable leather-bound vintage notebook and a box of premium drawing pencils. She pays with a $20.00 bill.
Cashier Task:
What is her total station cost, and how much change does she get?
G
Pantry Pick-up
General Store
Itemized Tag Price
1x Jar of Wildflower Honey $5.80
1x Box of Chamomile Tea $3.40
The Scenario:
Oscar grabs a jar of golden wildflower honey and a box of chamomile tea bags from the dry pantry aisle. He hands over a $10.00 bill.
Cashier Task:
What is the total purchase cost, and how much change is returned?
H
Movie Night
General Store
Itemized Tag Price
1x Large Popcorn Tub $3.25
2x Chocolate Raisin Boxes $1.50 ea.
The Scenario:
George purchases one large tub of warm popcorn and two sweet boxes of chocolate-covered raisins. He hand over a crisp $10.00 bill.
Cashier Task:
What is his total movie bill, and how much change does he get?
Cart Cashier Task Cards
Cut along the dotted lines. Use the recording sheet to show your work and answers.
Cards I–L
I
Craft Corner
General Store
Itemized Tag Price
1x Gold Glitter Glue $1.95
1x Sketchbook $3.50
1x Pink Eraser $0.65
The Scenario:
Hazel buys gold glitter glue, a thick drawing sketchbook, and a pink rubber eraser. She hands the store clerk a $10.00 bill.
Cashier Task:
What is her total bill, and how much change should she get?
J
Dairy Deli
General Store
Itemized Tag Price
1x Sharp Cheddar Block $4.15
1x Organic Whole Milk $2.25
The Scenario:
Walter purchases a solid block of sharp cheddar cheese and a cardboard carton of whole milk. He pays with a single $10.00 bill.
Cashier Task:
What is the total deli price, and how much change is returned?
K
Garden Green
General Store
Itemized Tag Price
2x Seed Packets $1.35 ea.
1x Terracotta Clay Pot $2.80
The Scenario:
Evelyn selects two flower seed packets and a small terracotta clay pot. She hands the cashier at the counter a $10.00 bill.
Cashier Task:
What is her total garden bill, and what is her change?
L
Game Garage
General Store
Itemized Tag Price
1x Retro Playing Cards $2.90
1x Vintage Wooden Puzzle $6.45
The Scenario:
Leo chooses a classic deck of playing cards and a wooden brainteaser jigsaw puzzle. He pays using a $20.00 bill.
Cashier Task:
What is his total game cost, and how much change does he get?
Cart Cashier Teacher Guide
Teacher Instruction Manual
Cart Cashier Lesson Guide
Multi-Step Money Word Problems • Grades 3–5
CCSS 2.MD.C.8 / 4.MD.A.2
Overview & Objectives
Students act as "Cart Cashiers" in a vintage general store. They will practice key real-world money math operations: adding multiple decimal sums, organizing vertical equations, and performing multi-step subtraction to calculate exact change from $5.00, $10.00, and $20.00 bills.
- Identify & extract numerical values from shopping scenarios.
- Add multiple decimal values representing items in a cart.
- Subtract decimals from round whole dollar amounts ($5, $10, $20).
- Apply double-checks to ensure correct change is rendered.
Lesson Specs
Duration: 45–60 Minutes
Group Size: Individual or Pairs
Materials: Cards, Sheets, play money
Focus Skills: Multi-step operations, decimals
Station Activity Mode
Implementation & Setup
Option A
Nostalgic Math Stations (Recommended)
Scatter the 12 Task Cards across different tables in the classroom. Give each pair of students a clipboard with a Logbook Recording Sheet. Students travel from "Register" to "Register" solving the local cashier challenges. Tip: Add dry-erase sheets and fake dollar bills to make it tactile.
Option B
Active Classroom Scavenger Hunt
Tape the Task Cards to walls, doors, bookshelves, and bulletin boards around the room in non-consecutive order. Students must hunt for the letter tags (A through L) and solve each ledger transaction before discovering the location of the next target card.
Pacing Guide & Suggested Flow
1. Warm-Up (10m) Model adding decimals and "counting up" to subtract change from $5.00 or $10.00 bills.
2. Activity (35m) Students navigate cards, write formulas on recording sheet, and verify totals with partners.
3. Debrief (10m) Review difficult cards (like Cards E, H, K with multiple item multiplies) and share subtraction mental math.
Classroom Debrief Prompts
"When subtracting from a solid dollar amount like $10.00, how do we handle regrouping across zeros? Can you think of a way to 'count up' from the price to make the math easier without writing out an algorithm?"
Quick Reference Key
Answer Key & Calculations
Registers A–L
A
