Leigh Raines

Raines’ innovative teaching idea, “A Cart Full of Knowledge,” focuses on helping students develop math skills by concentrating on the fluctuation of grocery prices in a fun, hands-on atmosphere with real-life scenarios. Students will explore budgeting, meal planning, finding the best prices, and other real-world topics that will give them the skills they need as adults. Instead of limiting grocery shopping to a single unit, the “A Cart Full of Knowledge” project will be an ongoing opportunity, where students will get the chance to simulate different tasks typically experienced in grocery shopping: estimating/rounding; counting money/making change; adding, subtracting, multiplication, and dividing; using less than/greater than; understanding weights and measurements; planning elements; having knowledge of inflation; reading nutritional labeling; and critical thinking about comparing needs versus wants. The project will also foster an understanding of goods and services, consumers, social skills, grocery store layouts, price comparison and coupon usage.