Mini Minds Hub · Free printable
Service Station Snack Shop: Free Printable Worksheet for Year 4
- ForYear 4
- StageKey Stage 2
- CostFree
- FormatPrintable PDF
Service Station Snack Shop is a free printable maths worksheet for Year 4 (ages 8 to 9). Children have £5 to spend at a snack shop. They read the price list, work out each receipt total and find their change. It needs only a pencil, and page 2 gives the grown-up notes, help ideas, a stretch task and the answers.
It comes from the Mini Minds Hub, the free library of printables from Jaques of London, the British games and toy company that has been making games for families since 1795. Print both pages, give page 1 to your child and keep page 2 for yourself. Black and white printing works well.
What is on the sheet
Children start with a table that lists items and their prices. They then answer numbered questions, with space to write each answer. They add prices to find a receipt total, multiply prices when they buy more than one of something, and subtract from £5 to find the change. A bonus question asks them to choose a drink and a food item and think about the cheapest way to buy both.
- Item
- Price
- You buy one sandwich and one water. What is the total?
- Bonus: What is the cheapest total for one drink and one food item?
A worked example
At a different shop, you buy a cheese roll for £1.85 and an orange juice for 95p. What is the total, and what is your change from £5?
This example uses a made up shop with its own prices. It shows two ways to work out the total and the change.
Method 1: column addition, then subtract- Write the prices in columns with the decimal points lined up: £1.85 and £0.95.
- Add the pence first: 85p + 95p = 180p. That is £1 and 80p. Write 80 and carry the 1 pound.
- Add the pounds: 1 + 0 + 1 carried = 2. The total is £2.80.
- Take the total from £5.00: £5.00 minus £2.80 = £2.20.
- Start at the total, £2.80.
- Count up to the next whole pound: 20p takes you to £3.
- Count up from £3 to £5: that is £2 more.
- Add the jumps: £2 + 20p = £2.20.
Make it feel like a real shop
Price labels
Cut small paper labels and write a price on each. Stick them on empty packets, tins or toys so children can shop around the room.
A coin tray
Use real coins or play money. Children pay with exact coins and then count out the change they should get back.
A receipt pad
Fold a few scraps of paper into a notepad. The cashier writes each item and price in a list and the total underneath, like a real receipt.
A £5 limit
Give each shopper £5 and a rule that they cannot go over. This makes children check totals before they decide to buy.
Money, receipts and change
In the UK, one pound is worth 100 pence. That is why prices such as £1.85 have two digits after the decimal point. The digits on the left show whole pounds and the digits on the right show pence. Lining them up carefully is the key to adding and taking away money without mistakes.
A receipt lists what a customer bought, the price of each item and the total. Change is the money handed back when someone pays with more than the total. Shop workers often work it out by counting up from the total to the amount paid. Children can use the same idea, or take the total away from £5.
Money facts
- There are 100 pence in one pound.
- UK coins include 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2.
- The 50p coin has seven sides.
- A receipt is proof of what you bought and how much it cost.
- Motorways have service areas where drivers can stop for a break, food and a drink.
Skills and curriculum link
- Adding money
- Finding change
- Multiplying prices
- Column addition
- Pounds and pence
- Checking answers
Ideas that help with money
- Pounds and pencePounds go on the left of the decimal point and pence on the right. Always write money with two digits after the point, such as £2.40, not £2.4.
- Line up the pointWhen adding in columns, put the decimal points directly under each other. Then add pence first, and carry to the pounds when needed.
- Counting up for changeStart at the total and count up to the next whole pound. Then jump to £5. Add the jumps to find the change.
- Estimating firstRound each price to the nearest 10p to get a rough total. If the exact answer is far from the estimate, check the working.
Key words
- TotalThe amount you get when you add all the prices together.
- ChangeThe money you get back when you pay more than the total.
- ReceiptA list of what you bought, with the prices and the total.
- PenceThe small units of UK money. There are 100 pence in one pound.
- Column additionWriting numbers under each other and adding one column at a time.
- EstimateA sensible rough answer. You can find one by rounding.
How to use it
- Print both pages. Page 1 is for your child. Keep page 2, which has the notes and answers.
- Read the price list together. Ask your child which items they would choose with £5 and why.
- Children write each total and change on the lines. Encourage column addition for the pounds and pence.
- Check against page 2. Ask, "How did you work that out?" The method matters as much as the answer.
- Come back another day and redo any questions that felt tricky. Repeating a familiar sheet builds confidence.
Help, stretch and game ideas
If it feels too hard
Let your child use real or play coins to build each total. Or round each price to the nearest 10p first to get an estimate. Try the first few questions together, then let them do the next one alone before moving on.
To stretch confident children
Design a £5 shop for your own car with at least four items. Write a price for each one, then make a receipt for a customer and work out their change. Swap with a friend and check each other's sums.
Make it a game
Play shop in pairs. One child is the cashier and the other picks items from the price list. The cashier writes the receipt and counts out the change. Swap roles and check each other's change.
Mistakes to watch for
Watch forA child does not line up the decimal points, so pence are added to pounds.
Try thisDraw two columns, one for pounds and one for pence. Write the digits in the right column, then add each column.
Watch forPence add up to more than 99 and the child writes something like £1.180.
Try thisRemind them that 100p makes £1. Write the extra pence as the answer and carry the pound to the next column.
Watch forA child takes away the price of only one item to find the change, not the whole total.
Try thisFind the total of everything bought first. Only then take it from £5, or count up from the total.
Talk about it
- What would you buy with £5 at a service station, and why?
- Is it better to estimate first or to add straight away?
- How could you check that your change is right?
- What happens to the change if you buy one more item?
- Why do you think shops give out receipts?
- Which way of finding change do you prefer, counting up or taking away?
Take it off the page
Play shop at home
Put price labels on empty packets and tins. Take turns to be the shopper and the cashier, and give change with real or play coins.
Receipt detective
Look at a real shopping receipt with a grown-up. Find the prices, the total and the date, and check that the items add up.
Picnic budget
Plan a picnic with a £5 limit. Write a list of snacks and drinks with prices, add them up and see how much change is left.
Who it is for
Parents
Sit beside your child for the first question, then let them lead. Encourage them to write down each step. If they get stuck, offer coins to make the total and the change.
Teachers
Use it as a starter, a plenary, an early finisher task or a homework task after teaching addition and subtraction of money. Page 2 gives support and stretch ideas for mixed ability groups.
Home educators
Pair it with a real shopping trip. Let your child add up a few prices and work out change from a note. It needs no preparation beyond printing, and you can reuse it for brothers and sisters.
Where this fits
Before this, children add and subtract amounts of money in pounds and pence, and learn to read and write prices correctly. They also build secure place value so that they know which column is which.
After this, they move on to harder money problems with several steps, bigger amounts and more items. They can also practise multiplying and dividing amounts of money, and use decimals in other contexts such as measures.
Questions parents and teachers ask
- What age is Service Station Snack Shop for?
It is written for Year 4 (ages 8 to 9), in Key Stage 2. Older children who need practice with money can use it too, and younger confident children can try it with a grown-up.
- What will children practise?
Children practise adding and multiplying amounts of money in pounds and pence, and finding change from £5 in a shopping context. They also practise column addition and checking that answers make sense.
- Do children need to know column addition?
It helps, and the sheet encourages it for pounds and pence. Children who find it hard can use coins, count up for change or round prices to the nearest 10p first to estimate.
- Are the answers included?
Yes. Page 2 is for the grown-up and includes the answers, alongside notes on how to use the sheet, help for children who find it hard and a stretch idea.
- Is it free?
Yes. It is free to print for home and classroom use. You can print it again for brothers and sisters, or for revision a few weeks later.
- Can teachers use it in class?
Yes. Teachers can use it as a starter, plenary, early finisher task, homework or table activity. It needs no preparation beyond printing, and page 2 helps with support and stretch.
- Do I need to print in colour?
No. It prints well in black and white on plain A4 paper. A pencil is all your child needs, so it works as a screen free activity at home or at school.
Preview the full PDF
Made by Jaques of London, making games for families since 1795. A printable supports classroom learning and does not replace a teacher.