Using the Grocery Store as an Instructional Place for Math

Teachable moments come in many forms, and can happen in many places. In fact, some of the best teachable moments happen when students are out in the "real world" with their families. Encouraging parents to allow their children to utilize their math skills in the real world is a very effective, and highly motivating, exercise. Some of the best mathematical teachable moments that will involve the whole family are activities that students complete at the grocery store. These activities help students to utilize the math skills they are learning in a real world setting.

There are many ways that math skills can be reinforced at the supermarket. For example, have your students come up with a list of ten items that their family will buy the next time they go grocery shopping. At the market, they find and write down the price for these items, calculate the tax that should be added for each item, and add up the totals. When checking out, students can see if their calculations were correct - to the penny! Another activity students can engage in is picking out the items necessary for a family dinner that costs no more than $20 - tax included!

Coupons are another way to help students practice math skills. Have students find some coupons from the local newspaper that they will use the next time they go grocery shopping.  You can prepare a simple worksheet for them to use when recording the original price, the discount, and the final price of the items. This activity reinforces subtraction, decimal, and money managing skills. Below you will find some other wonderful lesson plan ideas for grocery store math.

Grocery Store Math Lesson Plans:

The Global Grocery List Internet Project

Students are given a period of two weeks to make a trip to the grocery store. After collecting data from the store, students enter their prices into a classroom computer. They create a spreadsheet with the data they collected. Submitted spreadsheets are entered into a global database for food items. This lesson presents a very nice way of combining math and computer skills.

A Visit to the Grocery Store

Using the Food Guide Pyramid, students write a menu, obtain needed recipes, make a grocery list, select appropriate coupons, and calculate the cost of each item - minus the amount of any coupons. They calculate the cost of the entire meal. This cross-curricular lesson teaches health, nutrition, and math!

Coins to Bills!

Students practice using money at a grocery store. In this money lesson, students become familiar with grocery store ads, and work in pairs to use these ads to select food items to purchase using money manipulatives. Students practice being the customer and the sales person.

Money Management: Grocery Shopping for a Family Profile

This outstanding lesson has groups of students working together to plan a menu based on a specific family profile. The profile includes details about the family's makeup, financial resources, and dietary restrictions. Students shop for their fictional family, learn about menu planning, waste management, and food groups. At the end of the project, students write in a journal about their experiences.