The Grade 5 students have undertaken a budgeting project to better understand and appreciate the value of money from the perspective of someone earning minimum wage. One component of the project was to grocery shop and plan a meal for their group for $10.00. The groups managed their money effectively, and even went so far as to ‘invest’ in butter with other groups because they only needed a portion! Some of the meals prepared included steak and carrots, pork, spaghetti and sauce, ham sandwiches and steamed broccoli.
This meaningful learning experience will include a reflective writing piece that asks students to think about the bigger picture and critically analyze what it means to live on minimum wage.