Age Group: Elementary (K–5)
Skills: Budgeting, addition, comparing numbers, decision-making
Theme: Classroom “store” with pretend items and price tags

Learning Objectives

By the end of this activity, students will be able to:

Math & Money Skills

• Identify the value of classroom “prices” and match items to their price tags.
• Add multiple item prices to reach or stay under a $10 budget.
• Use a spending sheet to record item names, prices, and running totals.
• Compare item costs to make purchase decisions.

Financial Literacy

• Understand the concept of budgeting (limited money vs. unlimited wants).
• Practice making choices based on cost and remaining funds.
• Experience real-life decision-making involving trade-offs.

Executive Function & Social Skills

• Practice planning, organization, and tracking information.
• Communicate choices and justify spending decisions.
• Work cooperatively during shop rotations or partner shopping.

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Essential Questions

• What does it mean to budget money?
• How do we stay under a spending limit?
• Why do we need to make choices when we can’t afford everything?
• How can planning help us make better decisions?

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Materials Needed

• Item cut-out sheets (stickers, pencils, small toy, erasers, notebook, etc.)
• Price sheet (with $1–$5 values)
• Play money ($1 bills)
• Spending sheet (paper or laminated)
• Safety scissors (for cut-outs)
• Pencils/markers
• Optional: bins or baskets to make a mini “store”

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🎯 Vocabulary to Teach

• Budget: A plan that shows how much money you can spend.
• Cost: How much an item is worth.
• Total: All item prices added together.
• Change: What is left after spending.
• Choice/Trade-off: Giving up something to get something else.

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Instructional Steps (Teacher Guide)

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1. Warm-Up (5 minutes)

Ask:

• “What would you buy if you had $10?”
• “Can you buy everything you want?” (Introduce trade-offs)

Explain:
“You will each get $10 in pretend money and choose classroom items to ‘buy.’ But you must stay at or under $10!”

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2. Introduce the Classroom Shop (5–7 minutes)

Show the price sheet and item pictures.

Students practice:

• Identifying items
• Reading price tags
• Predicting: Which items seem most expensive? Least expensive?

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3. Model the Activity (5 minutes)

Demonstrate using the spending sheet:

Example:

• Pick “Stickers” → write “Stickers” under Item → write “$1” → write $1 under Total.
• Add a second item → update running total.

Ask:

• “If I only have $10, can I buy all of these?”
• “What should I think about before choosing my next item?”

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4. Student Shopping Time (10–15 minutes)

Students:

• Cut out the item images
• “Shop” by choosing items
• Use the spending sheet to track their total
• Use play money to “pay”

Encourage:

• Try to reach EXACTLY $10
• Try different combinations
• Compare choices with a partner

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5. Reflection & Discussion (5–10 minutes)

Ask guiding questions:

• “Was it hard to stay under $10? Why?”
• “What did you have to give up to stay in your budget?”
• “How did you decide which items to buy?”

Students can share their spending sheets.

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Differentiation

For Younger Students (K–2):

• Provide pre-filled price tags.
• Limit item choices to 4–5 items.
• Use pictures with labels.

For Older Students (3–5):

• Add tax (e.g., 10 cents per item).
• Provide larger budgets with more items.
• Encourage multi-step comparisons (“Which deal is better?”).

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Assessment Options

Formative Checks

• Observe students’ spending sheets for correct addition.
• Ask students to explain their spending decisions.
• Check if students stayed at or under budget.

Summative Activities

• Students solve “challenge scenarios” such as:
  • “You only have $7. What can you buy?”
  • “Make 3 different combinations that total exactly $10.”
  • “Which item is the best value, and why?”

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Extension Activities

• Create Your Own Store: Students design new items with prices.
• Math Word Problems:
  “If you bought a notebook and slime tub, how much did you spend?”
• Role-Play Cashier: One student adds totals while others shop.
• Savings Challenge: Give students $10 for the week; unused money rolls over.