Math projects are an ideal way to consolidate learning. I recommend using them as an engaging activity AFTER skills have been learned rather than during learning. You will likely find that engagement is very high and that your students ask to do more of these!

There are many ways to use math projects in your classroom. Some of the most popular are:

•a small-group or pairs activity

•a guided math activity to allow you to see where your students are struggling

•a fun, rewarding way to engage your early finishers

•a low-prep, easy-to-implement activity for a substitute teacher

You might choose to print specific tasks to use during math centers, or you might make a booklet out of all of the tasks and let your students choose which one to do when.

This resource is included in PDF format for printing and in Google Slides™️ format for digital learning. This makes it useable with Google Classroom™️.

Take a look at what you’ll find inside this math project:

TASK #1: BUSINESS DECISIONS

You’ve always dreamed of running your own grocery store and it’s finally happening! You have lots of decisions to make!

TASK #2: HOURS OF OPERATION

It’s time to plan your hours of operation. You want to make sure that you are open for the hours that will best serve your customers.

Skills: time, elapsed time

TASK #3: STOCKING THE SHELVES

A new grocery shipment just arrived and it’s time to stock the shelves with new items!

Skills: multiplication or repeated addition, bar graph, tally chart

TASK #4: PRICING ITEMS

When you own a grocery store, it’s important to price the items so that you make a profit. In this activity, we will work with wholesale price and mark-up to figure out our selling price.

Skills: money, addition with money

TASK #5: WORKING THE CASH REGISTER

Use the selling price from the previous page to figure out the cost of each order.

Skills: money, addition with money

TASK #6: THE PRODUCE DEPARTMENT

When you work in the produce department, you take care of stocking and organizing the fruits and vegetables.

Skills: picture graph, 1:10 representation, data interpretation

TASK #7: PRODUCE PACKAGES

Some of your fruits and vegetables are sold in pre-packaged bags. You’ll have to weigh them to make sure each bag weighs the correct amount.

Skills: mass, converting grams to kilograms

TASK #8: THE BAKERY DEPARTMENT

You are adding a new bakery department to the grocery store! Let’s figure out how big each section of the bakery will be.

Skills: area, perimeter

TASK #9: BAKING TIMES

In your bakery, everything is baked fresh daily! It’s very important to know the baking times for each item so that you always have a variety of fresh baked goods available.

Skills: addition, time to the minute, ordering from least to greatest, seconds

TASK #10: MEAT AND CHEESE TRAYS

One of the most popular items in your meat department are the meat and cheese trays.

Skills: bar graph, data interpretation and comparison, picture graph

TASK #11: SALE DAY

New coupons were mailed out this week and the grocery store is busy! Let’s take a look at some of the most popular sale items.

Skills: money, subtraction with money

TASK #12: PROBLEM SOLVING

Owning your own grocery store means that have to solve a lot of problems.

Skills: money, time, mass

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "This was a great activity for my enrichment math groups! It is so engaging, and covers so many skills. It is an excellent problem-solving review." Stacy M.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "My students and I love these real-world math projects that use real life situations. I love them because I can print it and use. It meets the curriculum expectations and helps consolidate skills taught. Bonus: it cross strands other math strands!" Samantha B.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "This resource was a great way to tie in functional academics in a meaningful way. Students were engaged and applying critical thinking skills. This was great for my special education classroom!" Heidi Y.