Lesson Title: Comparison Shopping On Site and Online
Introduction: Students will collect grocery price information online, in the classroom (using printed weekly flyers) and in the community. Students will use MS Excel to compare prices of grocery items (different brands, different stores) in order to develop an understanding of comparison shopping and to lay the groundwork for planning future spending decisions within a set budget.
Content Area: Life Skills / Consumer Education
Age/Grade Level of Students: 18-22 years / Special Needs Transition Program
Relative Advantage:(What are the clear benefits of this new way of doing things?)
Keeping track of the item and price information via a spreadsheet allows the students to efficiently and neatly track large amounts of information. Over time, they will use that information to compare different brands, different stores, and price fluctuations. They will learn how to use technology to better track their current spending and to plan future spending. Additionally, the skills that they learn in the lesson can be generalized to the “real world”. The data entry skills add to their repertoire of employability skills.
Timeline: (How much time will be required to complete the lesson?)
This is an ongoing lesson with an initial 20 minute large group demonstration, followed by small group in-class/online data collection and analysis for approximately 20 minutes each session (multiple groups each day), and the community based instruction (1-2 small group shopping trips per day and 2 “comparison price detective” groups each week). Initial data collection will take place over the course of one month in order to gather enough information to model how to create a monthly budget. Students can continue to practice/develop independence in the targeted skill set throughout the year, with additional skills (such as tracking sales and using coupons) being added as students demonstrate mastery of initially targeted skill set.
Adaptations for Learners with Special Needs: (what modifications could be implemented to meet the needs of ELL learners or those with learning/physical disabilities?)
Students with limited literacy skills can use pictures of targeted items on their grocery lists.
Students can work in groups to input data in such a way that each member of the group is able to actively participate.
Specific student objectives can be embedded in activity (e.g. counting items, identifying more/less, applying sales tax, social pragmatic skills, community-based learning objectives, keyboarding, software use, identifying local businesses…).
Mobile devices with cameras or barcode apps can be used to collect pricing information.
Students can dictate responses to staff or peer.
Lessons will be augmented with additional/higher-level skills as warranted by individual student performance.
Content Area: Life Skills / Consumer Education
Age/Grade Level of Students: 18-22 years / Special Needs Transition Program
Relative Advantage:(What are the clear benefits of this new way of doing things?)
Keeping track of the item and price information via a spreadsheet allows the students to efficiently and neatly track large amounts of information. Over time, they will use that information to compare different brands, different stores, and price fluctuations. They will learn how to use technology to better track their current spending and to plan future spending. Additionally, the skills that they learn in the lesson can be generalized to the “real world”. The data entry skills add to their repertoire of employability skills.
Timeline: (How much time will be required to complete the lesson?)
This is an ongoing lesson with an initial 20 minute large group demonstration, followed by small group in-class/online data collection and analysis for approximately 20 minutes each session (multiple groups each day), and the community based instruction (1-2 small group shopping trips per day and 2 “comparison price detective” groups each week). Initial data collection will take place over the course of one month in order to gather enough information to model how to create a monthly budget. Students can continue to practice/develop independence in the targeted skill set throughout the year, with additional skills (such as tracking sales and using coupons) being added as students demonstrate mastery of initially targeted skill set.
Adaptations for Learners with Special Needs: (what modifications could be implemented to meet the needs of ELL learners or those with learning/physical disabilities?)
Students with limited literacy skills can use pictures of targeted items on their grocery lists.
Students can work in groups to input data in such a way that each member of the group is able to actively participate.
Specific student objectives can be embedded in activity (e.g. counting items, identifying more/less, applying sales tax, social pragmatic skills, community-based learning objectives, keyboarding, software use, identifying local businesses…).
Mobile devices with cameras or barcode apps can be used to collect pricing information.
Students can dictate responses to staff or peer.
Lessons will be augmented with additional/higher-level skills as warranted by individual student performance.