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Worth It

Part of Module 1 of Bitcoin for Juniors →

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Activity typeSorting / classificationDiscussion
Duration45 min
GroupingWhole classIndividual
Description

Students explore the meaning of price by cutting out everyday items and placing them along a shared price line from cheap to expensive. Through comparison, discussion, and teacher guidance, learners develop a concrete understanding that price is the amount of money something costs and that prices can vary widely between items.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this activity, learners will:

  • Understand that price means how much something costs in money
  • Recognize the difference between cheap and expensive items
  • Compare prices across different types of goods
  • Participate in group discussion and justification
Materials
  • Old catalogues, magazines, or printed product sheets
  • Glue sticks or tape
  • Markers
  • Sticky notes or voting stickers (nice to have)
Equipment
  • Child-safe scissors
  • Projector, Visual Aides (See Appendix A) (nice to have)

PROCEDURE

OPENING 

10 minutes

  1. Optional: Pre-select and cut out items for modelling the activity
  2. Ensure all contents of the catalog are age appropriate.
  3. If possible, attempt to hide the retail price of the items using a marker pen.

PRE-ACTIVITY

5 minutes

  1. Ask students: “Who knows what the word price means?”
  2. Write clearly on the board:
    1. Price = how much money something costs
  3. Show two contrasting examples (e.g., apple vs bicycle) and ask which costs more. 

Objective In Student’s Words

  •  “Learn how much things cost and tell the difference between cheap and expensive.”
ACTIVITY

25 minutes

Setup

  1. Create a long horizontal line on the wall or board using tape or a dry-wipe pen. (See Appendix B)
  2. Label:
    1. Left: “Low Price”
    2. Right: “High Price” 

Model

  1. If not already done, select and cut out and item from the materials
  2. Place one item yourself on the horizontal line and explain your thinking aloud:
    1. “This goes here because it has a low price - it usually costs less money.”
  3. Ask students if they agree or disagree.

Carry Out

  1. Students take turns coming to the front and placing their items on the price line.
  2. Teacher prompts:
    1. “Is this price lower or higher than the last one?” ir “Does it cost more money to buy?”
    2. “Should it go more to the left or right?”
  3. Encourage movement and adjustment as opinions change.

Reflection

  • Walk along the price line as a group.
  • Ask:
    • “Do you think this item should move?”
    • “Which item surprised you?”
  • Reveal or estimate real prices for a few items and compare them to student guesses.
  • Highlight:
    • Small items can be expensive
    • Big items can sometimes be cheap
FOLLOW-UP

2 minutes

Summarize:

  • Price helps us compare items
  • Prices are different for different things
  • We can disagree, but money helps us decide 
CLOSE
  1. Congratulate students for their participation.
  2. Take a moment for gratitude for the objects in their life.
  3. Ask students to return all materials and equipment.
  4. The project can be displayed or stored and can be added to later by the students.

NOTES

Classroom management
  • Call students up one at a time
  • Encourage respectful disagreement
Extensions & Sponge Activities
  • Add price categories (Under $10, $10–$50, Over $100, Over $1000)
  • Redo the line using food, experiences, or services
  • Compare guessed prices vs real prices
  • Higher or Lower game
  • Introduce scarcity by asking why some items cost so much
Differentiation
  • Younger students: pre-cut items
  • ELL/Accessibility: allow pointing instead of speaking
  • Safety: supervise scissor use

Materials