Melanie Hellmann and Rob Bennington

Hellmann and Bennigton’s innovative teaching idea, “Building a Class Store,” is designed to help students understand the usefulness of mathematical concepts such as unit rates and percentages. According to the two teachers, the project will engage students in creating a business plan, marketing materials, and designs for a classroom store, where they will sell garments they’ve made so they can earn money for future projects. They believe the project will help students learn how such concepts as unit pricing, material costs, markup, and tax work in a real-world situation. The project will also include the creation of an ad that will run on the school’s video news channel.