Restaurant menu math: run a pretend café

The Corner Table practice menu

There are no meal deals unless a card states one. A sandwich cut in half still counts as one purchased sandwich; a second serving costs the full menu price. This makes the quantity being priced explicit.

Rotate three useful jobs

1. Start with soup and tea: $4.50 + $2.00 = $6.50. The order reader names each item, the calculator writes the amounts and the checker tests the sum.
2. Use cards 1–4 for single and repeated items, 5–8 for changed orders and limits, and 9–10 for whole-table checks. Change roles after every two cards.
3. Allow about 90 seconds per order. Collect an answer and an itemized bill before revealing. Award one point for the amount and one for an itemized bill that matches the order; record points outside the app.
4. Finish with a $12-per-person order design. Students choose their own food combinations, but must write the ordered quantities and show that the total is no more than $12. Do not require everyone to make the same choice.

Ten menu math order cards

1. 1. Lunch for one

   Order one sandwich and one glass of juice. What is the bill?

   Host answer and explanation

   $8.05

   $6.25 + $1.80 = $8.05. Align dollars and cents rather than adding 25 and 80 as whole dollars.

2. 2. Two soups

   Two customers each order one soup and water. What is the table total?

   Host answer and explanation

   $9.00

   2 × $4.50 = $9.00. Water adds $0; it is still part of the order.

3. 3. A shared snack

   Order three cookies and two cups of tea. What is the total?

   Host answer and explanation

   $7.60

   3 × $1.20 = $3.60; 2 × $2.00 = $4.00; together $7.60.

4. 4. Two different lunches

   One customer orders soup and salad; another orders a sandwich and a fruit cup. What is the combined bill?

   Host answer and explanation

   $17.00

   $4.50 + $3.75 + $6.25 + $2.50 = $17.00. Grouping $3.75 + $6.25 into $10 makes a useful mental check.

5. 5. Swap a side

   An order has a sandwich, salad and juice. Replace the salad with a fruit cup. What is the new total?

   Host answer and explanation

   $10.55

   The revised order is $6.25 + $2.50 + $1.80 = $10.55. Remove the salad before adding the replacement.

6. 6. What fits the limit?

   A customer has a $12 spending limit and orders a sandwich and juice. How much room is left in the limit?

   Host answer and explanation

   $3.95

   $12.00 − $8.05 = $3.95. One salad fits; two teas do not. This is available budget, not change from a payment.

7. 7. Cancel two drinks

   A four-person order costs $28.40, including four $1.80 juices. Two customers switch to free water. What is the revised bill?

   Host answer and explanation

   $24.80

   Remove 2 × $1.80 = $3.60. $28.40 − $3.60 = $24.80.

8. 8. Choose between orders

   Order A is soup, fruit and tea. Order B is a sandwich, cookie and water. How much more does A cost than B?

   Host answer and explanation

   $1.55

   A costs $4.50 + $2.50 + $2.00 = $9.00. B costs $6.25 + $1.20 = $7.45. Difference: $1.55.

9. 9. The whole table

   Four people each order a sandwich and water. The table also orders three cookies to share. What is the total bill?

   Host answer and explanation

   $28.60

   4 × $6.25 = $25.00, plus 3 × $1.20 = $3.60. The cookies are a shared table order, not three per person.

10. 10. An equal split

    Two people share a bill containing two soups, two salads, two juices and one cookie. They agree to split the bill equally. How much does each pay?

    Host answer and explanation

    $10.65

    Total: $9.00 + $7.50 + $3.60 + $1.20 = $21.30. Half is $10.65. The equal split is a stated game rule, not an assumption about what real diners should do.

A quick check beyond the winning score

Ask a student to explain the difference between a per-person item and a shared order. Then change the number of diners in card 9 from four to five without changing the shared cookies. The new bill is $34.85: $31.25 + $3.60. That explanation reveals whether the student understood quantities.

For beginning learners, use soup, tea and water with whole-dollar replacement prices. Rewrite the answer key before playing. For an extension, have students write a substitution card where removing an item lowers the bill by a known amount. Keep change-making and percentage discounts for their separate activities so this round stays focused on reading an order.