We sat down with Dowell to learn more about the project. See her responses below:

Q: What unit was this project a part of?

A: In Social Studies last week we were learning about money and trade. We actually were learning about money as well in Math, so we were just trying to tie the two together. Our “I can” statement said, “I can identify ways people exchange goods and services.”

Q: Tell us a little more about the project.

A: The students came up with ideas for something they could sell at a market earlier in the week. They made posters to advertise what they planned to pretend to sell. Each class used different materials. In my class we used manipulatives: cups, counters, Play-doh, links, shapes, blocks, etc. I was very open to what they chose to use because the idea was for them to be creative. They each had a bag of coins and paper dollar bills they could use to shop at each other's markets.

Q: What do you think the students took away from this project?

A: The takeaway was understanding how to exchange goods and services using money. It was important that they got a chance to actually practice the exchange and apply what they learned. They really enjoyed it!