Let’s Go Shopping
HOW IT WORKS
In Let’s Go Shopping, the students set up a
classroom store. This gives them insight into the
concept of ownership while they develop their
mathematics and problem-solving skills in a
socially interactive fashion. The students bring
in items to be sold (empty boxes, cans, etc.)
and determine the pricing with specific
guidelines determined by the teacher according to
the level of the students and the skills to be
taught. Prices can be altered during the year to
fit the curriculum and as the students’ skills
increase. Merchandise can also be varied. The
students sort items into categories and discuss
the jobs and responsibilities of the store
employees. A ‘Grand Opening Sale’ is held and the
shopping experience begins. Students assume
different roles, assigned and rotated by the
teacher. They also act as bookkeepers that
record and solve relevant problems in their
notebooks. The customer is given a wallet or
canister with a predetermined amount of money
and a shopping list. The customer sorts the
money, and the class and the customer count
the money and compare answers. Information
needed to solve the problem is brainstormed
and organized into columns in the students’
notebooks. The customer proceeds to the store
and a clerk helps him/her locate the items to be
purchased. The cashier adds the cost of each
item on the cash register and the head book-keeper
at each table uses the calculator to do
the same. The children at their seats record and
solve the appropriate number story in their note-book.
The customer pays the cashier by counting out the money.
THE STUDENTS
The difficulty of the problems can be adjusted
to fit the needs of the students and focus on the
math skills being covered. The concept of
competitive pricing can also be introduced. Problem
creation can be used as an enrichment activity.
Students can make up their own story problems
to use during lessons or center time. Integration
of the writing standards is also possible. Students
can write a narrative account about going shopping, or a narrative procedure explaining
the solution to a problem, or even an
informational report.
THE STAFF
Florann Greenberg has been teaching first grade at P.S. 14Q for for
the past 14 years.
WHAT YOU NEED
Materials can be kept simple. Empty book-shelves
or a cardboard prefabricated
supermarket can be used. Items to be sold are brought
in by the class. The toy cash register,
approximately six calculators, real coins, and punch-out
coins are all easy to acquire.
OVERALL VALUE
This program makes learning the necessary skills to meet the N.Y.S.
Standards more practical and meaningful by demonstrating their
importance. Students learn about money, using
addition, subtraction, multiplication and division,
and other problem-solving skills. Student
interaction is inherent in this activity. Students also
develop their self-esteem and have fun in the
process. |