Raisins or Raisins?
Jean Ann Gomer
1997 Secondary Math

 Activity Overview:  This culminating activity is a group activity following lessons on unit pricing percentages and problem solving techniques.

Estimated Time and Grade Level:  Seventh grade students are expected to organize their solution and share the results in class, all other work is done outside fo classtime.  This could be done as an inclass activity in about two 50-minute class periods.

 Materials:      Raisins—one 24 oz. Bag and a spoon
                         Raisins—two bags of snack sized boxes
                         Access to a word process for the report

Preparation:  My classroom is organized with tables and chairs to facilitate group work.  Students work in groups established at the beginning of the grading period.  The only preparation necessary is to get the raisins and make one copy per group of the problem to be presented.  This is the problem presented to the students:

          “Because the 7^th graders have been so well behaved, Mrs. G. decided to give them a treat.  Being health conscious, she decided to bring raisins to class.  Since she had to pay for the treats herself, she wanted to make the best choice.  Here are the choices she had:

Ø      Maynard’s Store (next door to the school)—They only had 24 oz bags of Sun-Maid raisins.  The cost was $2.79 per bag plus 4% sales tax.

Ø      EconoMart (15 miles away):  They had snack sized packages of Sun-Maid raisins.  The ½ oz boxes came 14 boxes per bag.  Each bag was $1.37 plus 5% tax.  Bernita picked up two bags for Mrs. G. because she knew that there were 18 students in the class.

What is the best choice?” 

Procedure: 

Day 1:  Introduce the problem and provide time to organize the group work
Instructions given to the students are:

• Step 1:  It is your group’s task to figure out which is the better choice.  Be sure that you have the figures to support your choice.  Be sure to consider all pertinent factor

• Step 2:  As a group write up a report explaining which you think is the better choice—the large bag or the small boxes.  Remember that the best buy is not always the best choice.  Be sure to write your report so that I know you are aware of George Polya and his work.  It should also reflect your understanding of unit pricing.

Days 2-4:  Outside work is done during study periods and word processing is done during computer lab access time (or the entire class could be taken to the lab.)

Day 5:  Students share orally with the whole class and hand in their written report.

Assessment:  Students will be assessed on the written report (see sample), the oral report, and their work habits within the group.

Extensions: 

Ø      When this is used as a culminating activity, no specific extensions are used.

Ø      When this is used in conjunction with other projects or as the precursor to an independent project, these ideas (questions) could be used:

o       Explore whether the brand of raisins makes a difference either in price or quality.

o       How does this activity connect to what you are studying in social studies.

o       Can you use what you learned in this activity some where besides math class?  (Three students used this as part of an extra credit assignment for vocational agriculture class when they were to explore a facet of agriculture or a crop from another state.)

o       How unsanitary is it to give you a spoonful of raisins instead of a box?

Web sites:  www.sun-maid.com
Teacher Enhancing Resources:
Learner Enhancing Resources:  a word processor

For further information about this lesson, contact
            Jean Gomer
            Deubrook Area HS
            Box 346
            White, SD 57276
            Phone:  605-629-1105
            Email:  gomerj@deubrook.com
            Website:   www.deubrook.com/gomerj/