MULTIPLYING AND DIVIDING DECIMALS: “Decimal Days: Montessori Money Quest”

🎲 MULTIPLYING AND DIVIDING DECIMALS: “Decimal Days: Montessori Money Quest”

🎯 Learning Goals:

• Multiply/divide decimals by powers of 10 (tenths, hundredths, thousandths, tens, hundreds, thousands)

• Apply place value strategies with Montessori mats & stamp games

• Use real-world math in financial literacy

• Engage in cooperative learning (buying/selling/deal-making)

• Practice using manipulatives (money, fraction cubes, decimal cubes)

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🧠 Materials Needed:

• Montessori Stamp Game + Place Value Mats

• Real or play money (coins + bills)

• Fraction cubes and decimal cubes

• Game board with 35–40 day spaces (5 weeks)

• Pawns for each player

• Mailbox (small container or envelope system)

• Mail Cards (bills, silly messages, offers, birthday cash)

• Offer/Deal Cards (stock investments, yard sales, jobs, business ventures)

• Menu Cards (Friday Night Out: food, movies, snacks)

• Transaction Record Sheet (bank ledger)

🏦 Setup:

• Each player begins with $2,000 in their “bank account”

• Players use Montessori mats and stamp game for place value accounting

• Each turn, a student rolls one die and moves 1 space per pip (each space = 1 day)

• Weekends and Fridays trigger special events

• Mail Days occur 2–3 times per week (marked on the board)

• End of each week = Friday Night Out (mandatory spending event)

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📜 Game Rules:

🎲 Daily Turns:

1. Roll the die (1–6), move that many days forward.

2. Draw a Mail Card if you land on a Mail space.

3. Follow the instructions (subtract bills using Montessori place value subtraction, consider offers, record changes).

4. Use stamp game and place value mats for all math transactions.

5. You may buy or sell offers to/from other students during your turn if the opportunity arises.

💌 Mail Card Types:

• Bills: (e.g., Internet bill $87.42, Electric $112.09)

• Silly Mail: “You got a postcard from a flamingo in Florida! No charge.”

• Gifts: “Grandma sent $25.00 for your birthday.”

• Fees: “Overdraft fee! Subtract $35.50.”

• Invitations: “Want to buy concert tickets for $80.00? Draw an Offer Card to find out if it’s worth it!”

💼 Offer/Deal Cards:

These allow players to invest money and potentially sell for a profit.

• Stocks: "Buy 100 shares at $0.05. Earn 1/1000 of a penny per share per day for 10 days."

• Yard Sale: "Buy old comic books for $30. Sell to a collector for $70 if you land on Wednesday."

• Lemonade Stand: "Buy supplies for $10. Multiply by 100 to determine profit over 3 days."

• Vintage Sneakers: "Bought for $25, potential buyer may offer $50 + $5 bonus."

• Players must negotiate with classmates to sell offers. The buyer must use multiplication/division to figure potential gains.

📈 Buying & Selling Mechanics:

• Students may buy offers from others.

• Buyer must determine value using math: e.g., “If this stock pays $0.001/share/day and I hold it for 10 days, will I profit?”

• Buyer uses stamp game and mat to calculate before final decision.

• Seller must subtract original investment and compare with final sale using Montessori subtraction tools.

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🍿 Friday Night Out (End of Week):

Every Friday:

• Students must choose a meal & activity using Menu Cards.

• Menu examples:

  • Pizza + Movie + Candy = $24.79

  • Taco Truck + Soft Drink = $12.30

  • Fancy Restaurant + Theater Show = $55.40

• Students compute totals and make change using coins and play money, record all spending with stamp game.

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🛒 Weekend Choices (Sat–Sun):

Students can choose:

• Stay Home (Free)

• Picnic in Park ($10 for food & gas)

• Trip to Phoenix: "Buy gas for $35.50, food $15.25, hotel $40.75"

They use real money and place value tools for all spending.

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📬 Mail Card Examples:

Type	Card Text
Bill	“Gas Bill: Pay $67.14”
Gift	“Uncle Joe sent you $50 for good grades!”
Silly	“Your dog got a job walking cats. He earned $1.00.”
Offer	“Buy a painting for $20. A collector will buy it for $50 if it’s a Tuesday.”
Fee	“Late payment penalty: Subtract $12.50”

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📊 Scoring / Winning:

• Game ends after 4 or 5 weeks.

• Winner = Student with the most money in their bank account.

• Bonus points if they can explain how they earned it using math (justify profits/losses).

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🧾 Expansion Ideas:

• Add job cards: “Tutor math for 3 days. Earn $15/day. Multiply your earnings.”

• Add unexpected life events: “Car breakdown. Subtract $87.62. You can’t move tomorrow.”

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Would you like me to generate a printable PDF version with:

• Game board template

• Full sets of Mail & Offer cards

• Menu cards

• Score sheets

• Dice alternatives

• Student ledger templates?

Let me know and I can prepare those for download.