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Lesson plan In this lesson, students set up a virtual lemonade stand. Students start the game with $20 USD. Each day, they must decide how many cups of lemonade to prepare, select the ingredients, and decide how much money to charge for each cup. Students base their decisions on production costs and the weather forecast (which sometimes is inaccurate). The game simulates customer behavior, and students record their decisions and outcomes in a Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet. After 10 days, they find out if they have made a profit. On This PageLesson plan information|
Instructional level | | • | Intermediate user | | • | Advanced user |
| School level | | • | Elementary school (5-11 years) | | • | Middle school (11-14 years) |
| Curriculum areas | | Class time | | Academic standards | | • | Mathematics: Numbers and operations, measurement |
| ISTE NETS Standards for students | | • | Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity. | | • | Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences. |
| Software required | | • | Microsoft Office Excel | | • | Microsoft Internet Explorer |
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Teacher guideObjectives| • | Students will purchase ingredients for making lemonade. | | • | Students will determine cost and ingredients for a cup of lemonade. | | • | Students will employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world. |
Prerequisite skills| • | Basic experience with Microsoft Office Excel | | • | Basic research skills using Microsoft Internet Explorer |
How to begin1. | Tell the students that they will go into the lemonade stand business. Each of them will own their own business and make decisions about materials, costs, and how to make the lemonade. They should also know that even if they have really good-tasting lemonade, sometimes the weather affects how much lemonade people buy. They will get to see a weather forecast, but they should keep in mind it isn't always accurate. | 2. | Save the document Student directions (24.5 KB Microsoft Word file) to your classroom computer. Adjust the directions as needed for your lesson. When presenting your lesson to the students, ask them to use the student directions sheet as a starting point. |
Resources and Web linksStudent activityDescriptionIn this activity, you will each set up your own business—a lemonade stand. You will make all decisions about materials, costs, and how to make the lemonade. You will run the lemonade stand, record your data, and then analyze how much money you made or lost. Remember that even if the lemonade you sell tastes really good, you may not necessarily sell a lot. Sometimes the weather affects how much lemonade people buy. You will get to see a weather forecast, but remember that weather forecasts are not always accurate. | • | Software: Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office Excel | | • | What to do Run your lemonade stand, record your data, and analyze your profits and losses 1. | Open Internet Explorer and go to the Web site: http://www.coolmath-games.com/lemonade/. | 2. | Open your Excel data sheet for recording your information. | 3. | Before you begin your actual data collection, you might want to experiment with how the lemonade stand runs for a few days. When you are ready, click the Bankrupt! button to see your results and start the game over. | 4. | Record in your Excel sheet all of the decisions you are making. Also, record your results. | 5. | Run your stand and record your data for 10 days. | 6. | After the tenth day, click the Bankrupt! button to see your final results. Did you make a profit? | 7. | Save your Excel data sheet and open up a Microsoft Office Word document. Write the answers to the following questions: | • | How did you do? Do you think your lemonade stand was successful? | | • | What did you learn from playing the game? | | • | Looking over your data, do you see any patterns? | | • | What advice would you give to someone who wants to be successful at playing the game? |
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Ways to extend the student activity| • | Students can write a strategy handbook for running a successful lemonade stand. | | • | Students can write their suggestions to make the game more challenging. |
AssessmentStudents can be assessed on their data collection and their final reflection. They should use mathematical terms and draw conclusions from reviewing their data. Innovative teaching
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