Standard 2: Solve problems involving money.

This interactive applet gives students practice in making change in U.S. dollars and in four other currencies. Students are presented with a purchase amount and the amount paid, and they must enter the quantity of each denomination that make up the correct change. Students are rewarded for correct answers and are shown the correct change if they err. There are four levels of difficulty, ranging from amounts less than a dollar to amounts over $100.

Type: Educational Game

Students are asked to solve a word problem involving multiplication of a decimal by a whole number using a model or drawing or a strategy based on place value, the relationship between multiplication and division, or properties of operations.

Type: Formative Assessment

Students will analyze data to develop a resupply schedule for a humanitarian mission following a natural disaster. They will apply mathematical operations over multiple steps to minimize the operational cost of the humanitarian mission.

This is an open-ended engineering design lesson where students will develop a model to help them solve a problem. There are no “right” answers as the lesson is focused on the process of developing a solution and the skills and reasoning behind the process. Students should be given the freedom to interpret the problem and parameters in unique ways to pursue their own lines of thinking in producing a solution.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students work collaboratively as they develop a procedure to determine the types of items they may need in case of a natural disaster, calculate costs to stay within a budget, identify civic responsibility, and understand how state and federal governments work together to protect U.S. citizens in this model eliciting activity.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations.  Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Most families must buy food and household items that they will need every few weeks. Instead of randomly throwing things into a shopping cart and paying whatever the total is, many families must stick carefully to a predetermined budget to buy all of the items they need. A helpful way to make sure that you are able to buy everything needed is to use a list that is written before going shopping. Families must also determine, if they will purchase "name brand" or "store brand" products. Today, students will practice using a grocery list with a predetermined budget as they add and subtract decimals.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students will create a model hovercraft. The challenge is to lift the most mass. Students will use their knowledge of forces and how increased mass interacts with motion. They will need to follow a budget in order to purchase building material for their hovercraft. While budgeting, students will apply real world mathematical (money) problem solving. Students will use iPads to record and document the process of the engineering and building of their model hovercrafts.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, 5th grade students will build an engineering device to separate oil from water in a simulated oil spill. Students will have an opportunity to learn about the impact that humans can have on the environment, both positively and negatively.

This is an Engineering Design Challenge that is best used after a unit or lesson that is aligned to science standards on solving problems or materials which dissolve in water. This challenge provides students a means to use their knowledge of the way materials will or will not dissolve in water to create and design an oil spill removal tool while learning the Engineering Design Process and being exposed to the field of engineering. This lesson is not intended as an initial introduction to the standard and would be best utilized as a culmination lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will create an exciting and thrilling roller coaster model. Students will use their knowledge of forces to build a model of a roller coaster using foam insulation and a marble.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is an engineering design process lesson that covers forces and motion. It is designed to engage students using hands-on problem solving strategies.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will explore the concepts of force and motion as they use the engineering design process to create and test rockets. Students will demonstrate their understanding of familiar forces by creating and presenting a poster. Take students up, up, and away with this engaging lesson!

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson gives students hands-on experience with sorting mixtures based on their properties. The students will relate these science standards to a real-world problem of eliminating trash in land fills. They will have to purchase the tools they use to create their assembly line to sort the garbage within the budget provided.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this engineering lesson, students will design and construct a bridge that will be free-standing and support a toy car.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, 5th grade students work in small groups on a STEM challenge that involves science and math standards related to force, motion, and measurement, as well as learning the engineering design process.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson will introduce division of decimals using place value decomposition. Students will use base 10 blocks, division strategies and place value knowledge to divide decimals by whole numbers.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson will provide practice in adding/subtracting decimals in money form.  Student will model with base-ten blocks and then using the standard algorithm, through the hundredths place. This is not an introductory lesson. Students should already have conceptual knowledge and practice adding four-digit numbers using manipulatives or other methods.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students divide decimals to hundredths in real-world word problems by drawing illustrations based on place value and explaining the reasoning used.

Type: Lesson Plan

A fire caused by faulty wiring set off a sprinkler system, which damaged a school. The school must be remodeled and the electrical wiring must be replaced. Students will decide which materials to use to as conductors and which to use as insulators in the new wiring.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students explore lodging options for their dream family vacation. Students will plan a vacation for a family of four. With a budget of $5,000 students will prepare a budget to include the cost of transportation, lodging, and attractions. In this lesson, students will focus on preparing the budget for hotel costs. In lesson 1 of this unit lesson, students prepared a budget for transportation. In the subsequent lesson to this one, students will prepare a budget for the entertainment/attractions costs portion of their vacation. Teachers can choose to do one, some, or all lessons as they can be completed independently of one another.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this MEA, the students will help a charitable organization select 5 snack items from a list to provide nutritious snacks for children in low-income communities.  Students will practice using the four operations to solve real-world problems and use decimal notation to make calculations involving money.  Additionally, they will be asked to compare multi-digit numbers to the thousandths.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this MEA, students will create a procedure to rank five mini-refrigerators to determine which one should be purchased for the school by the PTA based on size, type, features, energy usage, and cost. In the process, students will solve real-world problems involving the multiplication of multi-digit numbers with decimals to the hundredths, including using money. Students will also determine the volume of a rectangular prism using a formula.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is a Model Eliciting Activity in which students are asked to assist a toy company in ranking several cities for them to consider where they will open their next store. They also read data and apply multiplication skills.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will first review rectangular prisms and the formula for finding the volume of rectangular prisms. After students have determined the volume of a given set of rectangular prisms (aquariums), the students will use that information to help Seymour Phish in determining which aquarium he should purchase for his minnows.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Students work in teams to plan the contents of a covered wagon for a family relocating from Missouri to Oregon. Students must calculate the weight and cost of the wagon by adding, subtracting, and multiplying with decimals.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students work toward fluency with decimal operations by using a snack bar menu and going "Out to Lunch" with a friend.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students use mathematical practices to recommend food packages for the Wildlife Refuge of North America to order.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will use a grocery store ad to select items for purchase, working within the constraint of making their purchases with a $50 gift card. After their initial plan, they have some emergency expenses that change the amount of the gift card unexpectedly, and they must alter their list and re-compute how much money would remain on their gift card after their planned purchases are made.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, students will develop a procedure for choosing a balloon company for a birthday party and rank them from best to worst.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will be given a list of ingredients and prices they must use to create their own snack mix. Students will have to add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimal numbers. The closure of the lesson focuses specifically on the division strategies students used to solve the problem.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Birds Now Pet Store is increasing the size of its bird department. By increasing the number and types of birds, they need to purchase more bird food and the type of food needs to be one that different types of birds can eat. The students need to rank the companies that sell bird food base on the basic requirements out lined in the client's letter.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

If I travel to Italy, can I buy a raspberry gelato with a $5.00 bill? Students will understand that other countries use currencies different from the United States, and that when visiting those countries, exchange rates are used to determine the value of the United States dollar (USD). This lesson integrates Mathematics with Social Studies as the students apply their knowledge of decimals and basic operations with their passports for a real-world application.

Type: Lesson Plan

This MEA gives students the opportunity to use real world data to rank proposed product lines from most likely to be profitable to least likely to be profitable. There are two sequential tasks; the second task adds a component of complexity to the original task. Students will apply multiplication and division skills in problem solving, write a procedure with grade-appropriate organization and conventions, and participate in group collaboration to complete this task.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

This activity allows students to determine the types of items that should be in a hurricane survival kit, use a budget and calculations to determine the items to include in the kit and gain an understanding of hurricanes and the need to prepare for them.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

The students will create a package list for a travel company. They must use all operations with decimals as well as compare decimals.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

This MEA asks the students to compare items to be given to fans attending a college homecoming football game.

Students will use multi-digit multiplication and measurement conversion while comparing data on the items. They will also take into account fan reviews of the items which should create interesting student discussions.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

This MEA asks the students to decide which hand dryer model would be the "best and the worst" for Blow Me Away Incorporated to sell.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will review rectangular prisms and the formula for finding the volume of rectangular prisms. Once students have determined the volume of a number of rectangular prisms (cereal boxes), the students will use that information to help a fictitious company in determining which cereal box they should use for their new product.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

In teams, students will determine which sailboat the Leeward Family should purchase. They will use their knowledge of multiplying decimals to assist in their problem solving. The criteria will be based on air conditioning, swim out, auto helm, recent bottom job, condition of sails, condition of upholstery, and other twists!

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

This Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) is written at a 5th grade level. This MEA asks the students to decide on a t shirt that will provide the school’s Math club with the best value for their money. Students are asked to rank order the t shirt company options from best to worst. Students must explain how they arrived at their solution.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

This Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) asks students to develop a procedure for choosing a back-up energy source (generator) for an ice cream shop. Students will need to consider Cost of unit, wattage output, size of fuel container, length of time this machine will run, auto turn on, and the number of outlets it can receive. In the second portion of the problem statement, the students will need to prepare and compare the cost of use for 24 hour period. They will need to determine if they have still made the correct choices while adding three more generators for consideration, and make a cost analysis for 24 hours of use. In the culminating activity, the students will write a proposal for the client for the generator of their choice and include the 24 hours cost analysis.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

During this activity, students will read a book about the Brooklyn Bridge. After whole class discussion, children will explore different types of bridges and data, in order to decipher which bridge is the strongest. The students will work collaboratively in groups with assigned student roles. Students will utilized Higher Order thinking to create a solution. The culminating activity is a presentation of solution to whole class.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

This MEA asks the students to compare hand drying products based on: initial cost, replacement cost and absorbency. Students will provide the "top choice" to the principal of the school and explain how they arrived at the solution. In the twist, students will be asked to consider the environmental impact of the products and reevaluate their conclusions.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

This MEA asks students to decide which factors are important in developing a successful frozen yogurt (froyo) store in order to compete with and become the best store in the area. Students will provide feedback to an entrepreneur who is looking to open a frozen yogurt store. They will rank order their choices of the most successful to least successful store. Students will provide a detailed written explanation for how they decided to rank factors and their solution rating existing stores from best to worst.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

This is the first part of the lesson, "Makeover Home Edition." This lesson is designed to increase student engagement. Students must think critically about fencing in their new "dream" backyard by calculating the total fencing needed. They will choose the most cost-effective method of purchasing their fencing by comparing unit rates mathematically and graphically. CPALMS Lesson Part II (#48967) will concentrate on inserting a pool and patio into this backyard. Part III (#49025) will include the creation of a scale drawing of this backyard. Part IV (#49090) focuses on inserting a window and painting walls inside the house.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this MEA, 5th Grade students will work in teams to determine a procedure for ranking Storage Sheds for a construction company that is moving to a new facility to purchase. Students will need to calculate the square feet and cubic feet of space for the Storage Shed, make decisions based on a table of data, and write a letter to the client providing evidence for their decisions.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

The students will clip out advertisements or use the attached PowerPoint to determine the better buy between small quantities and large quantities. The students will answer the question, "Which item costs less per unit?" and demonstrate fluency in dividing with decimals.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA), students are provided with an engineering problem in which they must work as a team to design a procedure to select the best alternative to using Styrofoam trays in school cafeterias.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

In this Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will use problem-solving strategies to determine which bathing suit to recommend to an athletic director.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson reinforces multiplication of money by a whole number. Students will be presented with real-world items such as cans of soup, etc to investigate the concept of multiplying decimals. The culminating activity of the lesson is for students to create a school supply order for their classroom utilizing school supply catalogs.

Type: Lesson Plan

This Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) is written at a 4th grade level.

This activity allows students to think critically using information provided. Students will write a procedure on how they determined which painting company would be suitable for the client.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

The students will determine what to order at a dinner with friends yet stay within a budget. The students will try to maximize their budgets and order as much food as they possibly can with their given amount of money.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students hear a story about a middle-school student who wants to redecorate his bedroom. They measure the classroom wall dimensions, draw a scale model, and incorporate measurements for windows and doors to determine the area that could be covered by wallpaper. Students then hear more about the student's redecorating adventure and learn about expenses, budget constraints, and tradeoffs.

Type: Lesson Plan

Learn more about three U.S. states and their capitals, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin, in this interactive student tutorial. Practice your math skills by solving multi-step real world problems involving money and decimals.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn about three states and their capitals by taking a trip to Kentucky, North Carolina, and South Carolina in this interactive tutorial. Practice your math skills by solving multi-step real world problems involving money and decimals.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

The purpose of this task is for students to solve multi-step problems in a context involving a concept that supports financial literacy, namely inflation. Inflation is a sustained increase in the average price level. In this task, students can see that if the price level increases and people’s incomes do not increase, they aren’t able to purchase as many goods and services; in other words, their purchasing power decreases.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

When a division problem involving whole numbers does not result in a whole number quotient, it is important for students to be able to decide whether the context requires the result to be reported as a whole number with remainder (as with Part (b)) or a mixed number/decimal (as with Part (c)). Part (a) presents two variations on a context that require these two different responses to highlight the distinction between them.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

This Khan Academy tutorial video presents a strategy for computing the amount of change to be received after making a purchase.

Type: Tutorial