Year 8 discounts shopping activity
“Mathematics is food for the brain, it helps you think precisely, decisively, and creatively and helps you look at the world from multiple perspectives.” Dr Arthur Benjamin
During one of our Mathematics lessons, Ms Crosswell’s class engaged and participated in a shopping activity. This challenged our understanding of the topic of Percentages and demonstrated how we could use it in the real world. The class split into groups of three and each group had a budget of $400. Set around the room were different “shops” containing items with different prices and discounts. The task was to go around the room to each shop and buy at least one item from each stall.
The aim of the activity was to spend the least amount of money overall and this was tricky at times because buying one item from one shop could enable us to obtain items from other shops at a better price. For example, if we bought the Adele CD we could get one item from any shop for free!
This activity challenged us immensely, and there was healthy competition spreading through the room as well as a delicious prize. Every student in the class enjoyed the lesson as our brains were put to the test in a fun manner.
Alyssa and Karla
Year 8
