Back to School Shopping
I wanted to come up with a really fun and age appropriate back to school strategy for our lovely secondary kiddos this week! I have several students who have coin/money related goals, and I came up with the idea to create a strategy where the kids have to "purchase" school supplies to get ready for school. I haven't used this song or visual aid with my students yet, but I couldn't wait to try it out before I shared it with you!
I created a set of oversized price tags with varying costs on them, ranging from the simple ($0.01) to the more complex ($0.77) and covering all normal coins and dollar bill values. [If you click on the image of the price tags, you can open and download your own copy of the Price Tags Printable. Add to or modify the existing price tags based on your students' abilities!] I printed these out onto yellow card stock, and laminated for frequent use.
The next visual aid that accompanies this strategy is my School Supplies Powerpoint. I find that using Powerpoint to create visual aids is super helpful, especially when creating book-like aids. Now, obviously, using real life objects is the most preferred way to present materials, HOWEVER, sometimes that just isn't possible! [Once again, click on the image to the left to download a copy of my School Supplies visual aid.]
I rewrote the song "School Days" by Chuck Berry to accompany these visual aids! My plan is to 1) sing the first verse once or twice, 2) choose one student and show them an item with an appropriate (to the student's ability) price tag, 3) sing a verse based on their item/price and 4) help them create the right amount of coins or bills to "purchase" the school supply.
SCHOOL SUPPLIES Lyrics: Sarah Folkening, MT-BC Original Melody and Lyrics: Chuck Berry
I
Up in the morning and off to school
This new year is gonna rule
I7 IV
Science, history, English, and math
I
You study ‘em hard, you’re gonna pass
V(7)
Before the school day bell can ring
I
Let’s make sure you have your things
AMBER did you buy your BACKPACK
The store says that it’s ONE DOLLAR
How many QUARTERS will it take
So the right change you can make
ONE – TWO – THREE – FOUR
FOUR QUARTERS, and you’re out the door.
--OR--
SARAH did you buy your PENCILS
The store says that it’s FIVE CENTS
Which coin will it take
So the right change you can make
A penny, nickel, dime, or quarter
ONE NICKEL, you’re out the door
5 Ways to Adapt this Song:
1. I can't wait to use these price tags throughout the year! I plan to have some of my kiddos "purchase" their instruments during a session.
2. Bring in real school supplies and have the students match a real object to the picture representation I have provided.
3. Give a student a large amount of fake money (a $20 bill perhaps), and instruct them to buy as much as they can with the money they were provided.
4. Once they have determined one way to make a dollar, ask them to try to find other ways to build a dollar.
5. Use the original version of the song (prerecorded or live) as a fun instrument song or dance opportunity!
I hope you have a great start back to school season, either as a therapist, parent, teacher, student, or just celebrating the cooler weather we have on the horizon!
"Sing"cerely,
Sarah