STEM NG2

💰 Math Fact Friday Answer Time! 🎉

Save It Saturday Challenge

Marcus wants a science kit that costs $48. He already saved $19, and his grandmother gave him another $15.

Let’s break it down using Mental Math! 🧠

Part 1️⃣: How much money does Marcus have now?

$19 + $15 = ?

Break it apart:

19 + 10 = 29

29 + 5 = 34

✅ Marcus now has $34 saved!

Part 2️⃣: How much more does he need?

The science kit costs $48, and Marcus has $34.

$48 − $34 = ?

Think:

34 + 10 = 44

44 + 4 = 48

10 + 4 = 14

✅ Marcus needs to save $14 more.

🎉 Final Answer: Marcus has $34 saved and needs $14 more to reach his $48 goal!

👏🏾 Great job!

This challenge wasn’t just about addition and subtraction. Marcus practiced an important money skill: setting a savings goal, knowing how much you’ve already saved, and figuring out how much more you need to reach it. 💰🧠

💬 Want more real-life mental math challenges? Comment MENTAL for our FREE STEM NG² Mental Math Challenge!

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💰📚 WORD OF THE WEEK: EXPENSE

This week’s financial literacy word is Expense!

An expense is money you spend to pay for something.

Think about some of the things you or your family spend money on every day — food, transportation, clothing, entertainment, school supplies, or household bills. Those are all examples of expenses. 💵

Here’s a simple example:

You earn $25 helping with a task. 🙌🏾
You spend $8 on lunch.

That $8 is an expense.

Understanding expenses is important because earning money is only part of managing it. Students also need to understand where their money is going and how spending affects what they have left to save.

At STEM NG², we’re connecting math with real-life money skills to help students begin building healthy financial habits early. 💚💛

👨🏾‍👩🏾‍👧🏾 Parents, try this at home: Ask your student to name three expenses your family may have during a typical week. Then talk about the difference between something you need and something you want.

💰 Want to learn more about our upcoming 8-week Financial Literacy Program for students in grades 6–12?

👉🏾 DM us the word MONEY for more information!

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✅ Math Fact Friday Answer Time! 🎉

📚 Reading Challenge

Maya and Jordan are reading the same 286-page novel. Who is closer to finishing?

Let’s break it down using Mental Math! 🧠

📖 Step 1: How many pages does Maya have left?

286 − 118 = ?

Break it apart:

286 − 100 = 186

186 − 10 = 176

176 − 8 = 168

✅ Maya has 168 pages remaining.

📖 Step 2: How many pages does Jordan have left?

286 − 143 = ?

Break it apart:

286 − 100 = 186

186 − 40 = 146

146 − 3 = 143

✅ Jordan has 143 pages remaining.

🔎 Step 3: Compare the answers.

Maya: 168 pages left

Jordan: 143 pages left

Since 143 is less than 168, Jordan has fewer pages remaining.

🎉 Final Answer: Jordan is closer to finishing the book!

He has 143 pages left, while Maya has 168 pages left.

👏🏾 Great job!

This challenge combined reading + math and showed students how breaking larger subtraction problems into smaller steps can make mental math easier.

💬 Want more real-life mental math challenges? Comment MENTAL and we’ll send you our FREE STEM NG² Mental Math Challenge!

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✅ Math Fact Friday Answer Time! 🎉

The STEM NG² students had $120 to purchase books and supplies for Book Club.

Before shopping for books, they needed to make sure $30 was saved for supplies.

🧠 First, the students figure out how much money they have left for books.

$120 − $30 = $90

💰 Now the students have $90 left to spend on books.

Each book costs $9, so now they need to figure out how many $9 books they can purchase.

Instead of reaching for a calculator, the students think about their multiplication facts:

9 × 10 = 90

That means:

90 ÷ 9 = 10

🎉 ANSWER: The STEM NG² Book Club can purchase 10 books! 📚

And they still kept the $30 they needed for supplies. 🙌🏾

That’s Mental Math in action! The students had to budget for what they needed first, determine what was left, and then figure out what they could afford.

🧠 Set it aside → Find what remains → Solve.

💬 Want more real-life Mental Math challenges?

Comment MENTAL and we’ll send you our FREE STEM NG² Mental Math Challenge!

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