Week of 8/22 & 8/29
6th/7th grade: Consumer Decisions
Students will
- realize that they make economic decisions.
- understand how they weigh costs and benefits when they make economic
decisions.
Monday – Students will complete My Future, My Decision worksheet. This will force them to state their
future goal or problem, alternatives, and criteria and then evaluate each alternative based on the
criteria so that they can make the correct decision for themselves. This will be counted as a quiz grade
to ensure mastery of the vocabulary before we continue.
Tuesday – Students will test products. In order to be good consumers, we have to research the products
we buy. They will test paper towels today. First, as a cooperative learning group, they will discuss what
criteria makes a paper towel the best. These things will be their alternatives. Once the students have
listed their alternatives (option A, B and C because I will not tell them the brand of the paper towel) they
will then list the criteria. They will perform different tests so that they can determine which paper towel
is best.
Wednesday – Students will go back to their cooperative learning groups. They completed the three
tests yesterday but have not had a chance to analyze their results. When all groups have completed
their research, discuss the activity.
• Which product did your group judge to be the “best”?
• How did you define “best”?
• What tests did you use to evaluate each of the criteria? I will then reveal the identities of the products.
I will ask the students if they were surprised. If one brand was overwhelmingly judged “best,” ask the
students if that is the brand they would buy. (It is likely that the brand receiving the most favorable
evaluation will be the most expensive, and it is also likely that students will take note of this. Ifthey do
not, provide price information for all brands without further comment.) The groups will then answer
these questions to think about different uses for the product. For example:
• If you were hosting a birthday party for a group of five-year-old children,which paper towel would you
use?
• If you were cleaning the kitchen floor after a sink pipe had leaked, which
paper towel would you use?
Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday: I will hold up a copy of Consumer Reports. I will remind them that
they were consumer reporters on Tuesday and Wednesday when they determined what paper towel
was the best. I will explain to them that it is not always applicable to buy different brands of the same
product to “test” out so sometimes we have to rely on professionals to help us with the research.
Students will be in stations and will rotate through several different activities using a consumer report
magazine. They will understand how to use product comparison to make a wise consumer decision.
(Worksheets found at consumersunion.org, lesson plans for educators)
Station 1 – Students will complete a worksheet using the table of contents of the magazine to become
more familiar with the information provided.
Station 2 – Students will answer questions based on a ratings article on SmartPhones.
Station 3 – Students will read an article about, “Cars for Teens” and use the REAP strategy
Station 4 – Students will answer questions based on a ratings article on Laptops
Station 5 – Students will read an article about fast food restaurants and will complete a worksheet
Wednesday/Thursday: Students will complete a mastery quiz, I will compare and evaluate and products
to make a wise consumer decision.
Students will be given an article from the Consumer Reports magazine, about laptops. Students will
have to use the ratings sheet to answer consumer questions. These are not all knowledge based
questions. For example, one question, is “Why would a college student not want a 10.1 inch netbook”,
another is, “Why would an aspiring photographer not want a Macbook MC516LLA?” The students have
to actually read the test results and features of the products to answer the questions.
8th grade:
Monday: Students will be put in groups and list all of the characteristics of a good consumer. They will
each be given specific scenarios and decide which choice to make for that particular consumer.
Tuesday – Students will test products. In order to be good consumers, we have to research the products
we buy. They will test paper towels today. First, as a cooperative learning group, they will discuss what
criteria makes a paper towel the best. These things will be their alternatives. Once the students have
listed their alternatives (option A, B and C because I will not tell them the brand of the paper towel) they
will then list the criteria. They will perform different tests so that they can determine which paper towel
is best.
Wednesday – Students will go back to their cooperative learning groups. They completed the three
tests yesterday but have not had a chance to analyze their results. When all groups have completed
their research, discuss the activity.
• Which product did your group judge to be the “best”?
• How did you define “best”?
• What tests did you use to evaluate each of the criteria? I will then reveal the identities of the products.
I will ask the students if they were surprised. If one brand was overwhelmingly judged “best,” ask the
students if that is the brand they would buy. (It is likely that the brand receiving the most favorable
evaluation will be the most expensive, and it is also likely that students will take note of this. Ifthey do
not, provide price information for all brands without further comment.) The groups will then answer
these questions to think about different uses for the product. For example:
• If you were hosting a birthday party for a group of five-year-old children,which paper towel would you
use?
• If you were cleaning the kitchen floor after a sink pipe had leaked, which
paper towel would you use?
Thursday – Students will test products. In order to be good consumers, we have to research the
products we buy. They will test chocolate chip cookies. First, as a cooperative learning group, they will
discuss what criteria makes a good chocolate chip cookie. These things will be their alternatives. Once
the students have listed their alternatives (option A, B and C because I will not tell them the brand of the
paper towel) they will then list the criteria. They will perform different tests so that they can determine
which chocolate chip cookie is best.
Friday – Students will go back to their cooperative learning groups. They completed the three tests
yesterday but have not had a chance to analyze their results. When all groups have completed their
research, discuss the activity.
• Which product did your group judge to be the “best”?
• How did you define “best”?
• What tests did you use to evaluate each of the criteria?
I will then reveal the brands of the product, price of the product, and the calories of the product. We
will talk about how different brands would be better for different consumers.
Monday-Thursday: I will hold up a copy of Consumer Reports. I will remind them that they were
consumer reporters on Tuesday and Wednesday when they determined what paper towel was the best.
I will explain to them that it is not always applicable to buy different brands of the same product to
“test” out so sometimes we have to rely on professionals to help us with the research. Students will be
in stations and will rotate through several different activities using a consumer report magazine. They
will understand how to use product comparison to make a wise consumer decision.
Product Debates: Students will also use the Internet to conduct product research. Groups will have
Tablets vs. E-readers, iPhone vs. Android, Microsoft vs. Apple, Chevy Cruze vs. Toyota Corolla.
Students will be consumer researchers/reporters and go through a series of steps to investigate and
compare products to get the best buy.
Consumer Reports:
(Worksheets found at consumersunion.org, lesson plans for educators)
Station 1 – Students will complete a worksheet using the table of contents of the magazine to become
more familiar with the information provided.
Station 2 – Students will answer questions based on a ratings article on SmartPhones.
Station 3 – Students will read an article about, “Cars for Teens” and use the REAP strategy
Station 4 – Students will answer questions based on a ratings article on Laptops
Station 5 – Students will read an article about fast food restaurants and will complete a worksheet
We will have four groups doing the consumer report stations for 2 days, while the other 2 groups
perform product research and debate. Then we will switch the groups, due to lack of computers.