Lesson Plan

Title: Money Mart

Author: Vivian Pham
Grade: 5
Subject/Course: Math & Language
Strand: Number Sense & Numeration
Time: 2 hours
Lesson Number: 3 out of 10 (within the unit plan)
Lesson Description
For the motivational hook, the teacher will bring to class a variety of different food examples from the four
food groups. These items will be placed in the front of the classroom, and the class will play a simple variation
of “The Price is Right” game, with the teacher as the “game show host”. As a class, students will guess the
price of each food item, and the teacher will reveal the answers at the end of the game. Then, there will be a
class discussion on the comparison of prices from different food groups, and strategies in making healthy
choices while grocery shopping.
The main activity is called “Money Mart”. The teacher will bring in flyers from grocery stores; students have
the option to bring flyers as well. In small groups of 2 to 3, the students will cut out food item to make a
shopping list that shows healthy choices from different food groups. They will have a budget of $50.00.
During this activity, students will practice adding/subtracting monetary amounts using any strategies that work
best for them (e.g. manipulatives, algorithms, etc.). After finalizing their shopping list, they will paste the items
onto a piece of chart paper and write out their calculations. Each group will also have access to a set of “play
money”. They will bring up their chart and money in exact change to the “cashier” (the teacher), who will
check to make sure that they brought the correct amount. If the amount they brought was incorrect, they can
make the adjustments and return to the “cashier” to pay. At the end of the lesson, each group will give a brief
oral presentation of their chart and explain their thinking process on how they created their list.
Stage 1: Desired Results
Fundamental Concepts/Skills
- Spending within a budget
Addition and subtraction
Understanding decimal place values up to hundredths
Presenting work on chart paper
Group collaboration, presentation, and discussion
Big Ideas/Essential Question
Big Idea:
There are ways to buy items you need, while staying within a budget
The importance of working together as a team if you are managing your spending with other people
Giving an oral explanation of your reflections after a task can enhance your understanding
Essential Questions:
What are some strategies to use when spending money and staying under a certain budget?
How do I work collaboratively with other people to come up with a plan, and orally present our thinking
process?
Ontario Curricular Overall Expectation(s)
- (Number Sense and Numeration): read, represent, compare, and order whole numbers to 100 000,
decimal numbers to hundredths, proper and improper fractions, and mixed numbers
- (Number Sense and Numeration): solve problems involving the multiplication and division of multi-
digit whole numbers, and involving the addition and subtraction of decimal numbers to hundredths,
using a variety of strategies
- (Oral Communication): use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with
different audiences for a variety of purposes

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Ontario Curricular Specific Expectation(s)
- (Number Sense and Numeration, Quantity Relationships): Demonstrate an understanding of place
value in whole numbers and decimal numbers from 0.1 to 100 000, using a variety of tools and
strategies
- (Number Sense and Numeration, Operational Sense): add and subtract decimal numbers to
hundredths, including money amounts, using concrete materials, estimation, and algorithms
- (Oral Communication, 2.3): communicate orally in a clear, coherent manner, presenting ideas,
opinions, and information in a readily understandable form
Lesson Goals
- Students will apply their addition and subtraction skills to a situation involving money
- Students will develop strategies to spend money wisely and stay within a budget
- Students will present their group-work on chart paper and demonstrate their learning by orally
explaining their work
Key concepts and/or skills to be Background Knowledge
learned/applied
Adding and subtracting decimal numbers up - In a prior health lesson students have learned
to hundredths about the four food groups, and how to
Using bills and coins to pay in exact change categorize food items.
Giving an oral explanation of the group’s - In the previous lesson of this unit, students
work and thinking process learned how to add and subtract decimals up to
Healthy food choices from the four food hundredths. They also used base-ten blocks
groups and “play money” to represent values in
monetary word problems.
Stage 2: Planning learning experience and instruction
Student Groupings Instructional Strategies
- Large group - Group discussion
- Groups of 2-3 students - Organizing and displaying work visually on
chart paper
- Showing mathematical calculations on chart
paper
- Present work orally to the class as a group
Materials Considerations
- Grocery store flyers (multiple copies if - Inform students at least one week in advance
possible) that they can choose to bring grocery store
- 5 copies of the “Eating Well with Canada's flyers to class for this lesson.
Food Guide” document - The teacher will bring multiple copies of flyers
- Chart paper from grocery stores, since students will be
- “Play money” cutting out items from the flyer, and the flyers
- Manipulatives (base-ten blocks, snap are double-sided (if students only have one
cubes) copy, this may limit their choices).
- Scissors, glue, markers, pencils, erasers - If students need more time to prepare their
shopping lists, chart paper, and/or presentation,
they can present at the start of the next lesson
(and the teacher will adjust the unit plan
accordingly).
Accommodations
- Groups may have the option of presenting only to the teacher after class or during a break, since this
is their first oral presentation during this unit. This will be a good opportunity to practice their oral

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 presentation skills before they are assessed in their culminating activity.
- Allow extra time for those who need it. Students who require more time may present during a break or
future lesson.
- Students may choose to be in groups of 2 or 3 (optional).
- Before telling students to choose their groups, remember which students tend to have difficulty with
finding partners for group-work, and help them find a group quickly so that they do not feel left out.
- Bring at least 5 copies of the “Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide” document as a reference for
students (click here for PDF link). It includes examples of items of each food group, recommended
number of food guide servings per day, and how to determine how much is in a “serving”.
- Be mindful when discussing healthy eating choices, since not all families can afford fresh and healthy
food items on a regular basis. Focus on being informative rather than critical, and avoid making any
students feel uncomfortable about their family’s socioeconomic status. The focus is about making the
best choices possible within the budget that one may have.
Stage 3: Learning experience and instruction
Motivational Hook (20 MINS)
Bring a variety of different food examples from the four food groups (the containers can be empty).
Examples include an egg carton, milk carton, cereal box, bag of bread, apple, broccoli, and chicken
wings box.
These items will be placed in the front of the classroom, and the class will play a simple variation of
“The Price is Right” game, with the teacher as the “game show host”.
As a class, students will guess the price of each food item. If there are multiple answers and the
students are having trouble deciding on one as a class, there will be a class vote. For instance, if the
class is undecided between $5, $6, or $8, the teacher will ask how many students vote for each price
by raising their hand. The teacher will write down the price that won the majority of the votes.
The teacher will write the final class guesses on the board, and then reveal what the answers (real
prices from a grocery store) are.
Have a class discussion on the comparison of prices from different food groups, and strategies in
making healthy choices while grocery shopping. This can be based on the price-guessing activity and
from the students’ previous experiences, such as grocery shopping with parents. (E.g. Which food
groups tend to be more expensive? Which ones tend to be less expensive? What are some examples
of healthy choices and unhealthy choices within the same food group?) These strategies will help with
the essential question: “What are some strategies to use when spending money and staying under a
certain budget?”.
Open (20 MINS)
- Review the four food groups with the students, which they learned about in previous lessons, and
examples from each. (The teacher will ask guiding questions, and the students will provide the
answers.)
- Inform students that they will be creating a shopping list with a budget of $50.00, with a variety of
healthy food items from each food group. Explain the instructions outlined in the “Body” section below.
They will also reflect on their thinking process, and be expected to present their work as a group –
including strategies that they used, and how they overcame any challenges that the faced.
- Students will choose their groups, with 2-3 students in each group.
Body (50 MINS)
In small groups of 2 to 3, students will create their shopping list with a budget of $50.00, including
healthy food choices from each food group.
They will apply their addition/subtraction skills in this activity, using any strategies that work best for
them (e.g. manipulatives such as base-ten blocks).
After finalizing their shopping list, they will cut and paste the items onto a piece of chart paper. They
will work as a group to decide how to visually present the food items in into food group categories.
Each group will also write out their calculations on the chart paper and show how they determined that

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 their shopping list is within the $50.00 budget.
Each group will also have access to a set of “play money”. They will bring up their chart and money in
exact change to the “cashier” (the teacher), who will check to make sure that they brought the correct
amount. If the amount they brought was incorrect, the group can make the adjustments and return to
the “cashier” to pay.
Each group will prepare a brief oral presentation. See the “Close” section below for details on the
presentation components. The group will plan who is responsible for which part(s) of the presentation.
Each member is expected to contribute.
Close (30 MINS)
Each group will give a brief oral presentation of their chart with the class (approximately 2 minutes per
presentation), explaining their thinking process on how they created their list.
This includes an explanation of how their list includes healthy food choices, and giving examples in
their list from each food group.
They will also discuss any strategies that they used to create their shopping list, including any
challenges that they faced and how they overcame them. For example, they may have used mental
strategies involving subtraction to determine how close their current value is to the budget, and
approximately how much money in the budget they have left to buy more food. Or, they may have
gone over the budget, and had to use subtraction to determine how much they went over the limit.
All group members are expected to participate, and the teacher will be making notes on whether each
group member contributed and demonstrated an understanding of the material.
Link to Future Lessons
- Students will continue to apply their skills about making wise spending decisions, and
adding/subtracting decimal numbers in future lessons. E.g. Lesson 4 “Budgeting Brains” (choose
which items to buy from a list, within a budget of $20.00), Lesson 6 “Making Money” (completing a
chore chart, and adding up their weekly income from their list of chores), and their culminating activity
“Vacation Project” (students will be given a budget, and must plan a trip and document their expenses
along the way).
- Students will practice their oral presentation skills in preparation for their culminating activity. For this
“Money Mart” lesson, they may have the option to present only to the teacher since this is their first
oral presentation of the unit. In the last lesson of the unit, students will present their “Vacation Project”
as a culminating activity (they will have different options to allow for diversity/learner needs –
preparing a poster board oral presentation, a PowerPoint presentation, or a video recording presentation).
Assessment
Observation (Assessment for learning):
Take notes on who participated in the motivational discussion about comparing prices of different food
groups, and making healthy choices when grocery shopping.
Observe the students as they are making their shopping lists. If some students are not contributing
enough in the group-work, remind them that they should all be participating in the activity and
providing input, because they need to demonstrate their understanding of the math and financial
literacy concepts. Take notes on who contributed to the project by the end of the group-work session.
In addition, take notes on strategies that the students used to do the calculations (e.g. manipulatives).

Checklist:
Assessment for learning: Assess the oral presentations using a checklist. Did each student speak
during the presentation, and demonstrate that the student understood the concepts he/she presented?
Did the group clearly explain the strategies they used to create their shopping list? This assessment
will be used for learning, to determine whether students need extra practice with oral presentations.
Assessment of learning: Assess each chart using a checklist. Were the calculations done correctly?
Was the shopping list within the $50.00 budget?