Math, math everywhere...
I had excellent examples in my Dyad of putting math and science into real world applications. This was a fun and exciting part of my experience. My colleague and I have switched out of this Dyad so we will no longer have the fun and unique science and math experiences we were getting. Instead we are seeking a humanities endorsement so we have found a classroom that is more focused on such. We are both looking forward to that, but I find myself reflecting on how I will miss the good examples of applying math that our first teacher had begun to show us.Of the many fun ways she used math in her class, one of the easiest ones to replicate and bring into another classroom is a shopping spree!
The class was given $500 as their "shopping spree". They had fake money and they were to look through magazines and online stores to find whatever they'd like to spend their money on. They had to record each item they and recalculate their total money left over after each. There were to try and have no money left over. Tax was the most interesting part of this experiment. Students were fascinated with how much this changed their amounts. As they calculated the tax themselves, they became more aware of how much they were actually paying in taxes. There were a few restrictions on their shopping to ensure they got the most out of the experiment, i.e. buying two or three of one item and a minimum of five things etc. The students were able to shop where they wanted, and see how far they could really make $500 go. I think it was great for these little middle schoolers. Amongst the math and planning skills they practiced, they were able to see just how much the materialistic things they want actually cost and how to find alternatives. Very interesting to see how surprised they were to see how much an IPod really is when shopping online...
The students loved the activity, and it was exciting to be a part of as a teacher (or student teacher if you will)! I would love to see how different classroom in different areas partake to this experiment, what things do they look to buy etc. Or I wonder what thoughts and understanding it would bring if they had to use the money to feed their family for a month...hmmmm
What an awesome activity. I don't think money management skills can start young enough. Some parents do it, some do not. It is an essential skill. Many people who inherit money blow it. Why? Well, a lot of reasons but one being lack of financial management skills obviously. Money is such a huge part of our lives, why are we not taught to manage it? Money is also one of the biggest things married couples fight about. Why? Because it is emotional. Finances strike us at an emotional level, our security; the implications are huge so I would love to see more money management included in math practice. It is relevant to yesterday, now and tomorrow. I would love to see more responsible spenders in future generations going forward. I’m so happy to hear about this activity. I personally might add more to it depending on the age and group of kids and of course time!
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It is a forgotten skill to teach!! I completely agree! It's a revolving force in our society and there should be more attention to teaching people skills about how to use and maximize it. Parents a teachers alike would be helping students and society by spending more time educating people about money and how to use it as a means and a tool. This activity and lesson could and should be deepened depending on your students and I think it would have great benefits. What about investments? Activities with investments would have great benefits for students and people in society alike. It is somehow a forgotten topic that parents and teachers neglect to teach.... Ahhh if only we could get to Utopia!
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