Unit Plan 6 (Grade 6 Math): Percent in the Real World—Discounts, Markups, Tax, Tips
6th graders apply percent reasoning to real-world money problems involving discounts, markups, tax, and tips. They identify the correct base, estimate before calculating, and use ratio tables to organize multistep solutions with accurate units and clear explanations.
Focus: Apply percent reasoning to multistep contexts; estimate reasonableness before calculating.
Grade Level: 6
Subject Area: Mathematics (Ratios & Proportional Reasoning)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students extend percent sense to real-world money decisions: sale discounts, markups (store price increases), sales tax, and tips/service charges. They plan and solve multistep problems, using ratio tables (and, when helpful, double number lines) to structure thinking. Emphasis: identify the base, use benchmarks to estimate first, then compute and check reasonableness.
Essential Questions
- How do I decide which percent applies to which base in a multistep situation?
- Why is estimating before calculating helpful for money problems?
- How do ratio tables help track successive percent changes (discount → tax → tip/fees)?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Identify the base amount for each step (original price, discounted price, subtotal, total).
- Use ratio tables (and double number lines) to compute percent of a quantity for discounts, markups, tax, and tips.
- Solve multistep percent problems in a meaningful order and explain each step with units.
- Estimate with benchmarks (10%, 25%, 50%) to check reasonableness before/after calculating.
- Communicate decisions using clear unit statements and a brief reasonableness check.
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 6
- 6.RP.3c: Find a percent of a quantity as a rate per 100; solve problems involving finding the whole, given a part and the percent.
- 6.RP.3a (tables to support): Make tables of equivalent ratios to find missing values and structure multistep percent computations.
- Mathematical Practices: MP.1 (make sense), MP.3 (justify), MP.4 (model), MP.5 (tools), MP.6 (precision), MP.7 (structure), MP.8 (regularity).
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can name the base for each step and say what the percent is of.
- I can use a ratio table to find a percent (for example, 18% of 45) and show each step.
- I can solve discounts/markups/tax/tips in order and keep track of subtotals and totals.
- I can estimate with benchmarks before I calculate and explain why my answer makes sense.
- I can write a final sentence with units that answers the question.