This is a set of 20 task cards that are designed to help children calculate a tip. I teach the kids to find discounts mentally (find 10%, double it for 20%, halve it for 5%, etc). All of these cards use either 20% or 15% for the tip amount. My students had already learned how to find a discount mentally, but needed more practice with finding 15%. I also wanted them to see that the percent isn't always subtracted from the total, as it is with a discount. The cards could also be used with the proportion method or multiplying by .20 or .15 method.

Each card shows the name of the restaurant, the bill, and the tip percentage. I made 3 different recording sheets to allow for varying difficulty. One requires just the tip amount, the second is for the tip AND the total bill, and third requires the tip, the total AND the cost per guest. I wanted some flexibility in how the cards are used sot hat I could vary the difficulty. The answer key is included.

I used these cards with above level fifth graders as another way to examine a proportional relationship. Under Common Core, they support 7.RP.3. As the final set of cards the kids had done (including scale drawing, rate and percent discount), I found that the kids were very good at finding 20% mentally, and had a little more trouble with 15% when the amounts were more challenging (odd dollar amounts were particularly challenging). My students were really surprised by the size of some of the tips and the corresponding total bills. These cards led to some interesting discussions about how the size of the bill impacts the tip.

This is a 9-page PDf that includes 5 pages of task cards (4 per page for 5 pages), 3 different recording sheets that build in complexity, and a 1-page answer key.