What’s On Your Menu?

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Resource
Wallet Wellness
Grade(s)
1, 2, 3
Division(s)
Primary

Cross-Curricular Expectations

H&PE

A1. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Skills, B1. Active Participation, D2. Healthy Living

Math (Social-Emotional Learning Skills)

A1. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Skills and the Mathematical Processes: Apply, to the best of their ability, a variety of social-emotional learning skills to support their use of mathematical processes and their learning in connection with the expectations in the other five strands of the mathematics curriculum

Language
  • Oral and Non-Verbal Communication: apply listening, speaking, and non-verbal communication skills and strategies to understand and communicate meaning in formal and informal contexts and for various purposes and audiences
  • Transferable Skills: demonstrate an understanding of how transferable skills help them to express their voice and be engaged in their learning
  • Knowledge about Texts: apply foundational knowledge and skills to understand a variety of texts, including digital and media texts by creators with diverse identities, perspectives, and experience, and demonstrate an understanding of the patterns, features and elements of style associated with various text forms and genres
  • Language Foundations for Reading and Writing: demonstrate an understanding of foundational language knowledge and skills, and apply this understanding when reading and writing
  • Developing Ideas and Organizing Content: plan, develop ideas, gather information, and organize content for creating texts of various forms, including digital and media texts, on a variety of topics
  • Creating Texts: apply knowledge and understanding of various text forms and genres to create, revise, edit and proofread their own texts, using a variety of media, tools, and/or strategies, and reflect critically on created texts Transferable Skills: demonstrate an understanding of how transferable skills help them to express their voice and be engaged in their learning

Activity Description

Students develop a restaurant menu to discuss different spending options.

Materials

Learning Goals

  • I can describe the value of items.
  • I can represent the cost of items.

Key Concepts

Understanding the value of money and cost of items

Prior Knowledge and Skills

  • Recognizing different currency
  • Using currency to represent different values
  • Visiting a restaurant and using a menu

Minds On

  • Share three restaurant menus from a variety of cultures to expose students to different cuisines from around the world. Select menus that offer value deals (e.g., drink, meal, side, and dessert for a certain price).
  • Have students turn to an elbow partner and discuss which three deals they would purchase and why.
  • Each student uses their currency (refer to Materials for Canadian Currency and Payment Method Templates) to show how much their meal deal would cost (refer to Teacher Notes section for sample student responses).
  • Lead a guided discussion about reasons why someone might purchase different meal options (refer to Teacher Notes section for guiding questions and sample student responses).

Action

  • Explain to students that they will pretend they are opening their own restaurant and will work in groups to create a kids menu.
  • Share Canada’s Food Guide for students to reference. Have students identify how foods from a variety of cultures fit within Canada’s Food Guide recommendations (e.g., meals should include proteins, grains, vegetables).
  • Work with students to co-create a list of items a restaurant menu might have (e.g., drinks, appetizers, main course, desserts, number of items for each section), considering information from Canada’s Food Guide.
  • Students work in groups to research restaurants that offer a diversity of food choices to select their food items and determine realistic prices for their menu (refer to Materials for Restaurant Kids Menu Templates). Ask groups to price items individually and create “meal deals” where items are combined at a lower price than ordering them individually.

Consolidation

  • Post sample menus for students to compare.
  • Have students share their menus to the class. Lead a guided discussion about menu items (refer to Teacher Notes section for guiding questions and sample student responses).
  • Create an anchor chart to highlight key considerations when making meal-related decisions at a restaurant.
  • Ask each student to reflect by selecting a meal from their own (or another group’s) menu (refer to Materials for Meal Reflection Sheet).

Extended Learning

  • Enhanced Math Curriculum Focus (refer to Teacher Notes section for description)
  • Enhanced Media Literacy Focus (refer to Teacher Notes section for description)

Teacher Notes

Teacher Instruction

Sensitivity and Biases

  • In teaching financial literacy knowledge and skills, please keep in mind that individual family financial decisions are based on personal beliefs and priorities. Remind students that each family situation is different and that the decisions made by their family might be different than those made by other families, but that there is no right or wrong, just personal choices.
  • Some students may come from families and backgrounds where financial realities may be a cause for stress in their lives or there may not be positive role models in making financial decisions. Some faith traditions have specific beliefs surrounding financial concepts, which need to be considered in classroom instruction.
  • It’s important to be proactive in examining the guiding questions below in order to have optimal understanding of yourself and your students before examining any of the topics in a learning environment. Once this is achieved, promote open discussion with students by providing a safe, positive, and confidential (if necessary) environment for students to discuss matters of their own experience with financial decisions.

Guiding Questions for Classroom Instruction

  • How can I plan my instruction ensuring that it’s sensitive to students of different socio-economic backgrounds?
  • How can I respect the decisions made by students and their families while addressing the need to help students make reasoned financial choices?
  • How can I help my students become aware of the long-term effects their financial choices have on the world we live in?
  • What are the financial literacy related experiences of my students and how can I help them learn from those experiences?

Activity Notes

Curriculum Expectations

Additional Math expectations can be addressed by including Extended Learning activities.

Minds On

Sample Student Responses (“What meal would I purchase and why?”)
  • I would purchase this meal because I like this type of food the best.
  • I would purchase this meal because I get more food for less money.
  • I would purchase this meal because I think it would taste really good.
  • I would purchase this meal because the other menus include food I don’t eat because of my religion.
  • I would purchase this meal because I’m allergic to items on the other menus.
Guiding Questions and Student Responses

Guiding Question: Why might someone purchase a certain type of meal?

Sample Student Responses:

  • They might want to spend only a certain amount of money.
  • They might want to eat meal that gives them energy to fuel their body before playing a game.
  • They might have a birthday and pick a treat.
  • They might pick a meal they don’t usually get to eat.

Consolidation

Guiding Questions and Student Responses

Guiding Question #1: Which items were the most/least expensive items to include on your menu?

Sample Student Response: Responses will vary by student.

Guiding Question #2: In what situation would it be better to order a meal deal?

Sample Student Responses: If the person wanted to save money, they might want to order a meal deal since it costs less than ordering items individually. If they like all of the items included with the meal deal.

Guiding Question #3: In what situation would it be better to order items individually?

Sample Student Responses: If the person didn’t like all of the items in the meal deal and wouldn’t eat them all. If they want a certain type of food and it’s not included with the meal deal.

Guiding Question #4: What are some things someone might consider before ordering food in a restaurant?

Sample Student Responses: They might think about how much money they have or want to spend. They might consider trying a new food. They might consider ordering a meal deal because it’s usually a better value.

Extended Learning

Enhanced Math Curriculum Focus

Provide a budget for each group to spend at a restaurant. Students take turns visiting each other’s restaurants, ordering, and paying for items. Students running the restaurant create bills and calculate change for their customers.

Guiding Questions for Students
  • As a customer, knowing how much money you had to spend, how did you decide which items to order at the restaurant?
  • As a customer, what criteria do you use when ordering food at a restaurant (e.g., price, taste, a food you rarely get to eat)?
  • As a customer, how did you pay for the food items you ordered? Describe how you decided which bills and/or coins you used.
  • As a restaurant owner, describe the math skills you used in order to collect money from customers and provide change (e.g., addition, subtraction).

Enhanced Media Literacy Focus

Provide a variety of menus for students to reference to learn about different marketing strategies that restaurants use to encourage customers to buy certain items. Students could also explore creating commercials/ advertisements for their own menus.

Guiding Questions for Students
  • What makes a good cover for a menu (e.g., font, font size, colours, slogans, images, pictures)?
  • What types of strategies do restaurants use to get customers to purchase certain items (e.g., providing special deals, giving toys/treats as part of a kids menu, putting boxes around/ highlighting certain items)

Opportunities for Assessment

Meal Reflection Sheet (refer to Materials section)