• Demonstrate how to determine price per unit.
• Understand what is the 'best deal' when comparing prices.
• Explain why a consumer might, in some cases, purposely not choose the best deal.

• A regular sized candy bar (such as a Milky Way or Three Musketeers bar)
• A “king-sized” candy bar that is the same kind as the regular sized-one
• Two price tag signs – 65 cents for the regular size candy bar and one saying “SALE: 95 cents for the King Size”
• Some calculators for student use as needed

Lesson Plan:

Set-Up: Gather students together in a computer lab.

1. Introductory Activity: Place the two candy bars, with their respective signs, on your desk or table at the front of the lab, in full view of the students. Ask them, which is the better deal? (Give the students some time to consider this. Eventually, be sure to note that the correct answer depends on the cost per unit. You will need to figure that out before the lesson starts. If the regular size is 6 ounces and the king size is 10 ounces, then the cost per units are:
            - Regular size = .108 per ounce
            - King size = .095 per ounce – so the King size is the better deal)

2. Explain that the way to determine which is the best deal is to calculate the cost per unit.
The key to comparing prices is to break the cost down to a price per unit. For example, a 20 ounce bottle of soda pop may cost $0.95 and a 12 ounce bottle of soda pop may cost $0.75. To determine the better deal, you want to compare the price per unit [in this case, the price of one ounce of soda pop]. To find this, divide the price by the number of units.

For the 20 ounce bottle, you divide $0.95 by 20. This equals $0.0475 per ounce of soda pop. In this lesson we will round to the nearest penny, so the answer would be rounded to $0.05 per ounce of soda pop.

For the 12 ounce bottle, you divide $0.75 by 12. This equals $0.0625 or $0.06 per ounce of soda pop. Which one is the better deal? [Based on price only, the 20 ounces of soda pop is the better deal.]

3. When you feel the students have grasped the concept of price per unit, have them go online to
http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.cfm?lesson=EM530&page=teacher have them scroll down the page about halfway until they find this sentence:
For guided practice, have students complete the Best Deal Challenge.

Now have them click on the “Best Deal Challenge” and play the challenge game. They should try to answer the questions using just “mental math” but you can allow them to use a calculator if they need to. The game will likely take about 5 minutes or less.

Offline: If you do not have enough computers for all the students to log on to the internet, follow the link for a Powerpoint presentation of the Best Deal Challenge. If you have a projector, go through each slide and have the students write down their answers as you go through the questions. At the end ask the class how they did. If you do not have an LCD projector, print out the Powerpoint slides ahead of time, and instead of going through slides on the LCD projector, go through the the sheets.

4. Tell them that in the exercises they just completed, the only consideration they were focused on in choosing “which was the best deal” was PRICE. Ask them whether price is the only variable that people consider when making a purchase. [no] What other things do people take into consideration?  [Quantity, quality, name brand, brand loyalty, how much money they have available to spend, ease of purchase] For example, in the final question in the Best Deal Challenge, even though “the best deal” was for buying 10,000 cups, a customer might not want to own 10,000 cups!

5. Smart shoppers not only know how to comparison shop and to determine the unit price of items. They also know how to navigate their way through the various “specials” and “sales” and “deals” offered by merchants, like “2 for 1” sales or “buy 2 get 1 free” or “buy one get the second 50% off.” They also know how to evaluate the real value of discount coupons.

6. Financial Fitness for Life has a fun ten-question Quiz to help students learn to navigate these issues. Have the students go to this web page: http://fffl.ncee.net/activities/6-8/6-8.htm and take the Quiz. Note that there is an on-line calculator provided for their use. This quiz will probably take 5-10 minutes, as the math is a little more challenging. Students who finish particularly quickly could be invited to go over to other students’ computer stations to provide them with some helpful coaching.

Offline: If you do not have enough computers for the students to log on to the website above, print out the Financial Fitness for Life Powerpoint presentation and go through it with the class either with printouts or with an LCD projector if you have one.