Fifth Grade: Fractions and Decimals

How to Make a Buck. 

Get a standard deck of playing cards, shuffle the deck, and deal ten cards to each player. The object of the game is to be the first person to collect 10 cards that equal exactly $1.00. 

The values of each card are: Ace = $0.01, Two = $0.02, Three = $0.03, Four = $0.04. Five = $0.05, Six = $0.06, Seven = $0.07, Eight = $0.08, Nine = $0.09, Ten = $0.10, Jack = $0.11, Queen = $0.12, and King = $0.13. 

Take turns drawing and discarding one card at a time, deciding whether to keep or get rid of a card based on whether it will help you reach $1.00. When you discard a card, place it face up next to the main deck. The next player can choose to pick up the card you discarded or draw a new facedown card from the deck. 

Use mental math to add the ten cards and determine how close to $1.00 you are. Keep that number in your head and track how it shifts as you draw new cards and adapt your strategy. 

Keep playing until someone gets exactly $1.00 or you have gone through the entire deck. If the deck is depleted, whoever gets closest to $1.00 is the winner. 

This game will help your child put the concept of decimals into practice by actively working to reach a whole number with parts of the whole (the cards). It also requires the use of problem solving as your child works to figure out which cards to keep and which to discard as they work towards reaching $1.00.  

As you play, encourage your child to keep track of what cards are being placed into and removed from the discard pile. This will encourage them to think logically and to observe their opponent’s actions—namely, what cards the opponent discards and picks up. For example, explain that since there are four of each card in a deck, if they see multiple jack cards discarded or picked up early on in the game, then the likelihood of them drawing another jack card gets lower as the game progresses, so they should not plan their strategy around a jack in order to win the game. Considering an opponent’s moves will help your child make their own decisions more purposefully and strategically.