Engaged Learning Project

Title of Project: Help Our Schools Store

Subject(s): Math
Grade Level(s): 7th
Abstract:
The class will help the schools store with new products. Students will work in groups choosing different sections
of the grocery store (i.e. dairy, deli, produce, etc.) Before they open the store they must investigate different ways
to reduce cost like buying bulk versus buying individual products. They will establish a price to maximize profit on
the products, make comparisons to various grocery stores to see which price would be most profitable. Students
will decide what products to sell and use various methods to determine the best strategy for buying products to
get most profit. They will then use proportionality equations to show how much they saved by buying products one
way rather than another and how much money they would make with the prices they set. At the end of the
project, students will present their information to the manager of the school store as well as other managers from
the local grocery store. They will present the products they think the school store should sell based on the
information gathered. They will also present a business strategy. At the approval of the school store manager,
students will be allowed to run the store and sell the product. They may present using different Presentation
programs.
Learner Description/Context:
Students are 12 and 13-year-old 7th graders from a dual-immersion program public school. They meet daily in the
Math classroom for 55 minutes. The classroom has a diverse demographic that allows students to interact with
students of different cultural and social backgrounds and points of view. Students are aware of the different
cultures in our community and are able to communicate with their leaders in English and Spanish regardless of
the primary language spoken at home. Parents from the school commit to volunteering at the school for at least
10 hours per year, but many exceed that minimum requirement. The school stays connected with the community
through different partnerships with local organizations and businesses. These partnerships and parent
involvement will create a great learning experience for students and make it meaningful to them.
Time Frame: Students will work on this project over a period of 4-5 weeks.
Standards Assessed:
Content Standards
MCC7.RP.1 Compute unit rates associated with ratios of fractions, including ratios of lengths, areas and other
quantities measured in like or different units.
MCC7.RP.2 Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities.
MCC7.RP.2a Decide whether two quantities are in a proportional relationship, e.g., by testing for equivalent ratios
in a table or graphing on a coordinate plane and observing whether the graph is a straight line through the origin.
MCC7.RP.2b Identify the constant of proportionality (unit rate) in tables, graphs, equations, diagrams, and verbal
descriptions of proportional relationships.
MCC7.RP.2c Represent proportional relationships by equations.
MCC7.RP.2d Explain what a point (x,y) on the graph of a proportional relationship means in terms of the situation,
with special attention to the points (0,0) and (1,r) where r _is the unit rate.
MCC7.RP.3 Use proportional relationships to solve multistep ratio and percent problems. Examples: simple
interest, tax, markups and markdowns, gratuities and commissions, fees, percent increase and decrease and
percent error.
Standards for Mathematical Practice
1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
4 Model with mathematics.
5. Use appropriate tools strategically
6. Attend to precision
7. Look for and make use of structure
8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
ISTE Standards
1. Creativity and innovation

Iliana Lourie, Kennesaw State University

Engaged Learning Project

d. Identify trends and forecast possibilities
2. Communication and collaboration
a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
3. Research and information
a. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
d. Process data and report results.
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
a. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
b. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
c. Collect and analyze data to identify solution and/or make informed decision.
6. Technology operations and concepts.
a. understand an use technology systems.
b. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.

Learner Objectives:
At the end of this learning experience students will be able to:
Compute unit rates, specifically unit price
Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities
Graph proportional relationships
Represent the proportional relationships by equations
Explain the meaning of the different points in a graph that represents a proportional relationship
Use proportional relationships to solve multistep ratio and percent problems, specifically markups
Construct a graph with direct proportionality using Excel
Utilize presentation tools effectively
Communicate a business plan
The hook or Introduction:
At the school there is a school store called El Mercado that is run by a different grade level and other adults. As I
spoke to the financial manager of the store I found out that they are having trouble selling certain items. Students
have also complained about the items for sale at this time and their prices. The project will be introduced by telling
the students that we will help solve this problem so that the whole student body can benefit from it.
Process:
Teacher role:
The teacher will introduce the project to the students.
Prior to students completing each task that requires the understanding of math concepts, the teacher will introduce
the concept. Following this introduction, students will apply it in their project.
Facilitate the interaction between students and experts
Student role
Students will do research on the prices of various products by going to various websites of stores that sell in bulk
such as Sams Club, Costco, Bulkfoods, etc.
Students will apply the concepts
Students will create a presentation
Phase 1 (approx.1 week)
Introduction of the problem
Unit rate introduction and use of Excel for tables.
Students choose an area of the grocery store that they will focus on. They make a survey to determine which 4
products are most wanted for their area. They will organize data in tables/ graphs.
Students will calculate unit price for each product and total cost.

Iliana Lourie, Kennesaw State University

Engaged Learning Project

Phase 1 assessment: Students will blog about this part of the project. They will discuss unit rate and the importance
of finding out unit price when buying in bulk for re-sale.
Phase 2 (about 1.5 week)
Teacher introduction of the concept of proportionality, proportionality constant and proportionality equation.
Teacher will facilitate the visit of an expert to come and explain the process at a larger scale
Students will decide how the quantity they will sell.
Students write a proportionality equation and create a proportionality graph for each product using Excel. This will
allow them to see how much theyll spend for that product at different amounts.
Students will set proportions to determine how many packages they can get from the purchased container.
Using the demand date from Phase 1, students will decide how many containers they will need for the amount they
hope to sell and determine how much they will spend for each product.
During this phase, two district managers from ALDI grocery store were able to come and share with students about
the processes necessary for product selection. Since they both had a close connection with the school, they were
both able to come back on a different time after students had worked on their project to answer any more questions
that came up.
Phase 2 assessment: Students will blog about proportionality equations and their meaning in their specific situation.
Phase 3 (about 1.5 weeks)
Teacher will introduce the use of ratio in percent problems, specifically markup.
Students will set up proportions to establish the profit and markup.
Student will create a poll with these three different prices per product using online polling systems to determine
which price will sell best. (Online polling allows them to ask students without interrupting instruction).
Phase 3 assessment: Students will blog about how they determine the sale price of a product after figuring out
cost price.
During this phase, Mr. Lopez, the store manager will come to give students some feedback on their projects. As
they decide on the prices of their products, he will be able to shed some light on the consumption and price
trends he has seen in the store.
Product:
For the final product students will create a presentation with the use of various presentation tools. In order to promote the
goal of our Dual Immersion Program, this presentation will be done in Spanish. The audience of this presentation will be the
school store manager, their teacher, other students, and possibly the experts from before. One of the district manager is fluent
in 4 languages, including Spanish, which also encourages students to make this presentation in the immersion language. If the
experts are unable to attend, students can make a digital presentation to send to them. The purpose of the presentation is to
make a sale pitch of their products to be sold in the store. The final decision about which products can be sold in the store
will come from the store manager. Students will be expected to present their data in an organized and engaged manner as
well as a complete analysis of their projected sales utilizing the Math concepts learned.
The final presentation will be assessed with the following rubric:

Iliana Lourie, Kennesaw State University

Engaged Learning Project

At this time, students are working on their final presentation. They are very excited about the possibility of selling their
products in the store. Mr. Lopez has visited the class once and was very impresses with the students knowledge,
professionalism and enthusiasm. I hope they get to be in charge of the store before the break, but if not, it will give them
something to look forward to after a long break.
Technology Use:
Internet- For research of their products. This supports authenticity and student directed indicators.
Excel- For organization and analysis of data. This supports the teacher role of facilitator as I am able to see their
understanding.
Blogging: This involves students in a performance-based assessment where students are reflecting on their understanding of
the process of the project. Students also engage in multi-disciplinary tasks as they write about their understanding.
Presentation tools- Student communicate and collaborate with others to express their knowledge.
References and Supporting Material:
Various store sites (teacher selected)
Rubric
Blogging sites such as Edublogs or Kidblog
Buck Institute for Education website.

Iliana Lourie, Kennesaw State University