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In this lesson, students set up a virtual lemonade stand. Students start the game with US$20. Each day, they must decide how many cups of lemonade to prepare, which ingredients to buy and in what quantities, and 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 7, 14, or 30 days, they find out if they have made a profit. On This PageLesson plan information|
School level | | • | Elementary School (6-10 years old) | | • | Middle School (11-13 years old) |
| Subjects | | Class time | | • | 3-7 class periods (45-minute periods) spread over a 7, 14, or 30 day period |
| Software required | | • | Microsoft Office Excel | | • | Microsoft Internet Explorer |
| Materials needed | |
Teacher guideGoals| • | Students will employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world. | | • | Students will understand the basic concept of profits and losses. |
Objectives| • | Students will purchase ingredients for making lemonade. | | • | Students will determine the cost to produce one cup of lemonade. | | • | Students will assess weather forecasts and customer behavior patterns to determine how much lemonade to make each day. | | • | Students will use an Office Excel spreadsheet to collect data and record outcomes. | | • | Students will write a report reflecting on their data and the outcomes. |
Lesson ProcedureIntroductionWhen you run your own business, you have to make a lot of important decisions based on math. You have to calculate how many supplies to buy, analyze the data you collect from your sales numbers every day, and make decisions about the future based on the conclusions you draw from your information. In this activity, you will each set up and run your own business—a lemonade stand. You will make all the business 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. The game is to see how much money you make or lose each day and overall. 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. Before you start playing this game, you will read directions that will show you how to start and operate a business like this. During the time that you run your business, you will use an Office Excel data collection sheet to record your decisions, your data, and your outcomes. When the game is over, you will write a report about why you made a profit or why you did not. Main ActivityTeachers: Please download the Student Guide for details on the main activities for this lesson plan: Student Guide (Microsoft Office Word document, 20 KB) includes Step 1, "Run your lemonade stand and record your data," and Step 2, "Analyze your profits and losses."
ConclusionAssess students on their data collection and their final reflection. They should use mathematical terms and draw conclusions from reviewing their data. Materials needed| • |
Save the Student Guide (Microsoft Office Word document, 20 KB) to your class folder. Adjust the directions as needed for your lesson.
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Save the Excel data collection sheet (Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet, 48 KB) to your class folder.
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Lesson extension activities| • |
Have students use one of the charts in Office Excel to help them visualize and analyze their data.
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Have students write a strategy handbook for running a successful lemonade stand.
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Have students write their suggestions to make the game more challenging (for example, offering different size cups or two different flavors of lemonade).
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Have students create an ad campaign to attract more customers to their business.
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