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Shop 'Til You Drop!!!
An interesting update from our grade six math teachers....
 
It is the holiday season and many of us are busy shopping for wonderful presents for our loved ones.  This year's sixth graders are no exception.  Beginning in the month of November the sixth grade mathematics teachers introduced students to MacKinnon's "Holiday Shopping Spree"!  Each student will be putting together a booklet for their family which includes a wish list of presents they would give if money were no object.  This is a great opportunity for them to dig deep into their values and find the ultimate gift, explore the Internet to discover all of the resources available to them and incorporate the mathematics skills they have learned this year.  We are all anxious to see the final result!!
 
Hmm, I wonder what they "pretend" bought me!!!

internet shopping gif

Mrs. Silvestri Reports...
8th graders in Mrs. Silvestri's class joined in the shopping project with an unlimited budget to spend on their family.  They had to figure out the discount amount and sales tax for each item they purchased. 
 
Mrs. Silvestri's 6th graders are learning the metric system and participated in a metric scavenger hunt. Her 7th graders are starting a project to determine if the weather in one region of the United States is more predictable than in other regions.  Each student has to select four cities; one from each quadrant of the United States.  Students track the daily temperature for seven days and compare the findings to the average monthly temperature for that city.  The seventh graders will have to plot their city locations on a coordinate plane and compare data gatehered by fellow students to make a draw a conclusion about the predictability of the weather.

Holiday Shopping Spree Web Quest
Lady shopping at holiday time
Click above see the exciting shopping Web quest

Grade Seven Likes Shopping, Too!

Not to be out done by grade six, the MacKinnon seventh graders are also on a fantasy shopping spree; however, some challenges have been added.  The older students have been given a budget!  Seventh graders are finding out just how far $5,000 will go and they are also required to apply coupons to their purchases. Students are calculating the cost of their purchases before and after applying those money saving coupons.

 

What a great way to teach budgeting and cost cutting!!

Eighth Graders Shop With Class!

Our 8th graders are taking the MacKinnon shopping project even further!  They are formatting spreadsheets to calculate discounts and sales tax and then creating circle graphs to categorize their purchases.  Students have been instructed to complete all of their calculations by hand and with calculators prior to making their spreadsheets functional.  The functional spreadsheets enable the eighth graders to check the accuracy of their mathematical calculations. 

 

Who knew that shopping involved so much math!