Remember: A card is not extra money. It is a promise to pay later: the company pays first, and one bill comes at the month's end.
Read and answer
Read the story first, then answer.
The Blue Teapot CaféIn the made-up Blue Teapot Café, Ben had dinner with two friends. When the bill came, it was six coins, but his wallet was at home on the kitchen table. Ben wondered if a card could promise, "I will pay later." Then he could show the card, enjoy dinner and settle up another day. Here is how a card works. Ben shows his card, and the card company pays the café right away, so the café is happy. At the month's end, one bill arrives for everything on the card. When it is all paid on time, there is usually nothing extra. Say Ben owes six coins but pays only four. The other two are a loan, and next month the company adds a small charge of one pretend coin, called interest. Cafés like cards too, since people can buy with no coins in their pockets, and the café pays the card company a small fee. People tell a story like Ben's about how the first cards began in 1950, in a few restaurants in one city, but nobody can be sure it happened exactly that way.
1
Ben shows his card at the café. What is he really saying?
Here are my coinsI will pay laterI have extra money in here
2
Join each one to what happens.
1Ben
2The card company
3The café
4The month's end
Apays the café first
Bpays the bill later
Cpays the company a small fee
Done bill arrives
3
Ben's bill is 6 coins. He pays the 4 crossed out. The rest, coins, is a loan.
4
If you pay the whole card bill on time, it usually costs nothing extra.
TrueFalse
5
Next month the company adds a small charge of 1 pretend coin. What is it called?
A giftA feeInterest
6
The loan of 2 coins and the charge of 1 coin together are coins.
Fix, order and think
7
Ben says: my card gives me extra money to spend. Is Ben right?
YesNo
8
Why do cafés like cards?
People can buy with no coins in their pocketsThe card company never charges a feeCards are always free for the café
9
Circle every true sentence.
The first cards began in 1950The first cards were made of cardboardThe first cards had a chipEveryone agrees exactly how the first card beganThe card company pays the café first
10
Put how cards changed in order, oldest first.
Plastic with a stripe
A chip
Cardboard
11
Ben pays only part of his bill each month. What is different from paying it all?
The company forgets the restThe rest is a loan that can cost extraThe rest becomes a gift
12
Write one question you would ask a grown-up about a card bill.
13
Draw Ben's card with a speech bubble that says what it promises.
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Answer key · Set A
The first cards
1I will pay later A card is a promise to pay later. It holds no coins and no extra money.
21-B, 2-A, 3-C, 4-D The company pays the café first, the café pays it a small fee, one bill comes at the month's end, and Ben pays later.
32 6 − 4 = 2. The other two coins are a loan.
4True Paying everything on time usually means there is nothing extra to pay.
5Interest The small charge on a loan is interest. A fee is what the café pays the card company.
63 2 + 1 = 3.
7No A card gives no extra money. It is a promise to pay after.
8People can buy with no coins in their pockets Customers can pay without coins, and the café pays the card company a small fee for the service.
9The first cards began in 1950, The first cards were made of cardboard, The card company pays the café first Cards began in 1950 as cardboard, and the company pays the café first. Chips came later, and nobody can be sure how it began.
102, 3, 1 Cardboard came first, then plastic with a stripe, then a chip, each quicker to use.
11The rest is a loan that can cost extra The rest is a loan, and the company adds a small charge called interest.
12Your own words: a grown-up reads it.
Mark each answer, count the right ones and write the score on the sheet.