TEACHERS NAME: Stefanie Hios

GRADE: 4th
SUBJECT(S): Math
LESSON & UNIT TOPIC: Thanksgiving Dinner on a Budget
TIME FRAME: 2 80 minute periods
NJCCCS INDICATOR(S):
NJCCS.Math.Content.4.NBT.4 Fluently add or subtract multi-digit whole numbers using the
standard algorithm
NJCCS.Math.Content.4.NBT.A.3 Use place value understanding to round multi-digit whole
numbers to any price
NJCCS.Math.Content.4.NBT. B.5 Multiply a whole number up to 4 digit by a one digit whole
number, and multiply two two digit numbers, using strategies based on place value and the
properties of operations. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular
arrays, and/or area models
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: Students can use math strategies from the classroom in a
real world setting.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S): How can rounding, addition, subtraction, and multiplication help
budget a Thanksgiving dinner?
PERFORMANCE OUTCOME:
Students will be able to use real-life supermarket circulars in order to create a Thanksgiving
dinner within a $100 budget.
Students will be able to work with a partner in order to make poster, depicting the process to
coming up with the budget, according to a checklist.
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING:
Summative: Students will be able to complete a chart, showing how to spread a budget of $100
for a Thanksgiving dinner. The students will be assessed upon the inclusion of all aspects of the
dinner (meat, vegetable, dessert, drink, and side) all while remaining under the budget. Students
will be assessed upon the work they show to depict how they came up with a reasonable answer.
Students can use any strategy to come up with the budget, but they must show all their work.
Students will be informally assessed by observation on how each partnership works together.
CONNECTIONS: Describe how this lessons content and practice will connect to all of the
following:

prior learning; Students have learned how to add, subtract, round, and multiply. This
activity will extend their learning of these skills into a real world setting.

varied cultural perspectives and/or contributions;Each student will be making a list

of items eaten at their own Thanksgiving dinner. Each student celebrates differently,
therefore the items will all look a little different

students daily lives; and Creating a list of supplies and budgeting money is a skill that
students will need in the real world


learning community principles. Students will be working in pairs, therefore they are
working collaboratively in order to reach a conclusion
TEACHER RESOURCES:
directions projected onto the document camera
examples of budget and example of poster to be projected on document camera
LIST OF STUDENT MATERIALS:
7 packets of supermarket circulars
1 poster per group (need 7)
14 student copies of directions, budget sheet, and checklist for poster
papers, pencils, scissors, and glue
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE:
Hook: Pull up a picture of a Thanksgiving dinner from a present-day celebration
Inform students they will be coming up with their own Thanksgiving dinner, using strategies we
have learned in math.
Content:
Go over directions from the Plan A Thanksgiving Meal worksheet
Give the students budgeting worksheet using the document camera
As a class, have students brainstorm items they may need for a Thanksgiving meal
Break students into pairs based on abilities. Students who struggle with these skills will be paired
with students who are more comfortable with these skills
Amber and Becky
Xochitl and Diamond
JAdore and Aiden
Reggie and Reinaldo
Chantal and Yesenia
Tianna and Devin
Nina and Jaheim
Have students look through ads, having them look for one of the items they will need to find
(like turkey)
As pairs look through ads, compare prices amongst different supermarkets. Explain the rule of
thumb for how much turkey they need is to buy at least 1 pound per person) The students are not
allowed to buy the all inclusive meal deals Each required item must be purchased separately.
Challenge the students to get as close to $100 as they can, but they must not go over. If they have
extra money, they can buy an extra dessert, gravy, whipped cream, or flowers for the table.
Model how to fill out the budgeting sheet.
As students find the items that they need from the list, they should cut out the item from the ad
and place it in the envelope until they are ready to work on the poster
On the second day, the students can continue to search for items, or if they have successfully
found the required items and are within budget they may start on the poster. I have included a
project checklist to review and model with the students before they begin on the second day..
Closure; Discussion: What challenged the students throughout this activity? What did they
enjoy?
Each group will share how much of their $100 budget they spent.

Plan a Thanksgiving Meal

Names:__________________________________________
Your job is to plan a Thanksgiving meal for eight people. Use the grocery store ads to plan and
budget for your meal. You must keep your meal within a $100.00 budget. You will need to find
all of the required foods in the list below. Cut out the item and price and then add the information
to your budgeting sheet.
Your meal must include:
One protein- (for example TURKEY or HAM) (at least one pound per person)
Stuffing
Two vegetables of your choice
Potatoes
Bread or rolls
Cranberries or cranberry sauce
Dessert
A beverage that the entire family can drink
Make sure you have enough for 8 people.
(A pumpkin pie cut into 8 slices makes for a very small piece, so you may want to get another
one)
Try to get as close to $100 as you can, but you may not go over. If you have some extra money,
you may buy flowers for the table an extra dessert, gravy, or maybe some whipped cream.
After planning your meal and using your budgeting sheet to make sure that you can afford it, you
will be making a poster to display your findings. The poster should include a title, a restatement
of the problem, a menu for your meal, the cost of each item and math work proving that the meal
comes in within the $100 budget.
For items that are sold by the pound you need to include the cost per pound and the total cost of
the item. You may round to the nearest dollar to make it easier. Example: If you were trying to
find the cost of 6 pounds of potatoes @ 99 per pound, you could round that to the nearest dollar.
Therefore $1 x 6 = $6.
The poster also needs to include either hand-drawn pictures of the food or pictures that are cut
from the ads.
Your work should be neat and someone looking at the poster should be able to follow your
thinking.
Staple your budgeting sheet and project checklist to the back of your poster.

Thanksgiving Meal Project Checklist

Name________________________
I included:
___ a title for my poster
___ a restatement of the problem
___ cost for each item. For items sold by the pound I proved the total item cost using math
thinking
___ the total cost of the meal and showed my math thinking for arriving at that cost
___ accurate computations
___ photos or pictures of the food
___ neat and legible work
___ proof of all of my math thinking

Thanksgiving Meal Budgeting Worksheet

Name______________________________
Use this worksheet to compute how much you have spent.
Remember your budget is $100.00.
Have you included?
turkey
bread or rolls
beverage
vegetable
stuffing
ITEM

Quantity needed

cranberries
Cost per unit (ie.
pound, quart, can)

dessert
Item total

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Total spent: $ ______________

How much change will you receive back from $100.00? __________
Prove your answer on the back of this paper.