Kelsey W. answered • 09/13/19
A+ Expert General Chemistry Tutor: Kind, Patient and Knowledgeable
To help your student with this problem, the most effective visual way to go about this will be to make pictures showing each action being taken:
Aiden saved $22 - draw a piggy bank showing that Aiden has this money (receiving category)
Aiden earned $25 mowing a lawn- draw Aiden doing a chore (mowing the lawn) and now his parents are giving him $25 to put in his piggy bank to ADD to the money that he has saved (receiving category)
Stop and make sure the student understands that Aiden now has $22 + $25 = $47 in his piggy bank that is his money that he can either keep or spend on things he wants.
Aiden spent $32 on a suitcase- make the information interesting for the student; Aiden wants to go to the beach but to do this, he needed to buy a suitcase. Have the student draw Aiden going to a store, picking out a suitcase and giving AWAY the $32 needed to buy the suitcase for the beach trip.
Ask the student where the money came from? It came from the piggy bank that had $47. If $32 was just taken away so Aiden could buy the suitcase for the beach trip, ask the student if they think this money is being given to Aiden or taken away from Aiden.
At this point, it is very important for the student to understand that we need to subtract $32 from $47 so we will know that Aiden has $47 - $32 = $15 left in his piggy bank to either spend on other items or save for later.
