How it works
Tess teaches at the school and gets a salary: the same amount every month, 80 coins, whatever the month brings.
Sam builds sheds and is paid by the hour, 4 coins for each hour. More hours means more coins, and fewer hours means fewer coins.
Over two months each earned 160 coins: the same total in a different shape. Tess's pay was steady, and Sam's went up and down.
Neither way of being paid is better. What matters is knowing which kind you have, and planning to match.
Worked examples
Hourly pay, a busy month
- Sam works 25 hours at 4 coins an hour.
- Hours times the rate: 25 × 4 = 100.
- Sam is paid 100 coins, more than Tess's 80.
Hourly pay, a quiet month
- Sam works 15 hours at 4 coins an hour.
- 15 × 4 = 60.
- Sam is paid 60 coins, less than Tess's 80.
Adding up two months
- Tess: 80 + 80 = 160 coins.
- Sam: 100 + 60 = 160 coins.
- The same total, but Tess's pay is steady and Sam's goes up and down.
Sam's trick
- In the busy month Sam sets 20 aside: 100 − 20 = 80 coins to spend.
- In the quiet month he adds it back: 60 + 20 = 80 coins to spend.
- So Sam has 80 coins both months, steady like a salary.
A taste of the worksheets
These are some of the questions on the sets. The printable sheets have more and an answer key.
- Circle every true sentence. A salary is the same each month / Hourly pay follows the hours worked / Hourly pay is always bigger than a salary / Neither way of being paid is better
- Sam says: 15 hours at 4 coins an hour is 15 + 4 = 19 coins. Fix the mistake. What is the right sum? 15 × 4 = 60 / 15 − 4 = 11 / 19 is right
- True or false? After his trick, Sam has 80 coins to spend in both months, the same as Tess.
- Stretch: if Sam works 20 hours at 4 coins an hour, he is paid ___ coins, the same as Tess's salary.
- Sam earns four coins an hour. Which pays twenty coins? 🕙 ten hours of work at four coins an hour / ⏱️ five hours of work at four coins an hour / 🕠 twenty-five hours of work at four coins an hour
Words to know
- salary
- The same pay every month, whatever the month brings.
- hourly pay
- Pay for each hour worked, so more hours means more coins.
- rate
- The coins paid for one hour: Sam's is 4.
- plan
- Decide ahead how your coins will be used.
Watch out for
- A salary does not follow the hours. Tess still gets 80 coins in a short month.
- Hourly pay changes because of the hours, not the rate. Sam earns 4 coins an hour every month.
- A busy month's pay is not every month's pay. Plan with the quiet months too.
- Neither way is better. They are just different shapes of pay.
Try it
Sam works 15 hours at 4 coins an hour. What is he paid?
60 coins. 15 × 4 = 60.
Which pay is the same every month, a salary or hourly pay?
A salary. A salary stays the same each month.
Sam works 20 hours at 4 coins an hour. What is he paid?
80 coins. 20 × 4 = 80, the same as Tess's salary.
In month two Tess gets 80 coins and Sam gets 60. Who is paid more?
Tess. Sam's pay fell because he worked fewer hours.
For grown-ups
With a grown-up, talk about how people you know are paid. Is it a salary or by the hour, and how do they plan?
If your family is happy to, talk about whether the grown-ups in your life are paid a salary or by the hour, and how they plan around it. Keep it about how, not how much.