Using Amazon.com to Teach Percent Discounts

This week in Mrs. Beck's Math Class our Common Core connection will explore Percent Discounts.  Again I am using one of Dan Meyer's 3 - Act problems:
Amazon Percent Discounts - Courtesy of Dan Meyer's 3-Act Math

Middle school students love to shop.  Many of my students spend some time during their weekends at the mall that is in our town.  Percent discounts and mark-ups provide a great opportunity to show students the connections between pre-algebra and their lives.

Here is the plan for next week's Common Core math activites:

Monday - Close Read, Clarification of Information, Translation into "math expressions" and Possible Questions to Explore

1. The students will use their handouts to underline important information, circle things they are unsure about, and finally to translate words into equations/expressions. 
2. They will do this as individuals to begin.  Once it seems all of the students have had a chance to consider the information, then they will discuss their "note-taking" with their partners before we have a whole class sharing session.  The final partner task is to write at least 2 questions that can be answered using the mathematics that we are studying currently.  
3. As a class we will share and discuss the important information and translations and questions to come up with the math tasks/questions we will explore during the rest of the week for warm-ups and homework. (This is a bit uncomfortable for some since it is open-ended.  We are letting the students take part in the questioning and planning.  

NOTE: Keep in mind that we as teachers sometimes have a difficult time releasing responsibility to the students.  When I ask for "their" questions, I always have "my questions" on hand in case I need to "guide" the students.  What I most often find is that they come up with the questions I am thinking of and surprise me with ones I was not even thinking of.

HOMEWORK:
Look up three items you would be interested in buying on Amazon or another website (school appropriate).  Make sure you pick items that are on sale.  Write down the original price and the sale price of the three items and bring them to school on Tuesday.

Tuesday-
Warm-Up: Make a group chart of the items each member looked up, name of each item, their original price and their sale price.

1. Since the students looked up original price and sale price, I will white out the percent discount on the first amazon picture and have the students find the percent of the discount for practice.  We will share out and discuss so that they can use the warm up notes for their homework.

Use the link below to pick one of the pictures (or find your own) 
Mrs. Beck's Amazon Shopping (you'll have to white out the parts you want to hide) 

Classwork: Work on Chapter 7 problems tied to the standards we are studying.

HOMEWORK: 
Pick three of the items from the chart you made for your warm up and calculate the percent of the discount.

Wednesday-
Warm-Up: 

1. Have the students share their "calculations" and compare answers, make sure everyone understands and can show their thinking.  
2. I will post an amazon picture from my link above and white out the sale price so that the students can use the information to calculate it.  (Work with groups, show work and be able to explain/justify their thinking.)
3. I will post another picture that has white out on theoriginal price so that the students can calculate that. (Work with groups, show work and be able to explain/justify their thinking.)

Classwork: Work on Chapter 7 problems tied to the standards we are studying.

HOMEWORK:

Use the two remaining pictures from the link (I will post on my classroom website) to find the missing values (one will beoriginal price and one will be sale price)

Thursday-

Warm-Up:

1. Share your solutions, your justification (work) and write an argument for one of your solutions describing mathematically how you know your solution is correct.
2. Share and discuss with group and class your "arguments"

Classwork: Work on Chapter 7 problems tied to the standards we are studying.

HOMEWORK:

Study for the chapter 7 formative assessment.