Budgeting Healthy Meals

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ST Name: Kym Fox

ST Number: 40036679

Class Level: 6th Class

Date: 13/11/2025

Subject: Maths

Time: 11:10

Duration of Lesson: 50 minutes

No of Pupils: 24

Strand(s):

Measures

Strand Unit(s) / Element(s):

Money

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Learning Outcomes / Content Objectives:

Through appropriately playful and engaging learning experiences, children should be able to:

• Solve and pose practical tasks to investigate and make informed judgements about transactions and financial plans (Curriculum for Ireland, Mathematics, Measures strand, Money, related to financial literacy and budgeting).
• Use real-life catalogues and prices to prepare, organise and manage a budget considering value for money and healthy nutrition (aligned with SESE cross-curricular elements of wellbeing and financial awareness).

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Learning Objectives:

1. The child should be enabled to apply prior knowledge of budgeting and value for money by creating a realistic budget for a 3-course family dinner costing no more than €80, using product catalogues (Aldi/Lidl).
2. The child should be enabled to develop and organise a budget template including the headings: Income, Expenses, Total Cost, Savings, and calculate costs accurately.

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Assessment / Measúnú:

1. Method: Formative assessment through observation of pair work; evaluation of completed budget templates; class discussion analysing food deals.
2. Assessment of: Understanding of budgeting concepts, price comparison skills, application of value for money principles, and correct use of a budget table.
3. To be recorded: Teacher observation notes on pair collaboration and reasoning during research; completed exercise sheets and budget templates collected for review.

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Teacher Questioning:

Introduction (i):

• Lower order:

  1. How much does one small pizza cost?
  2. What is the price of two small pizzas together?
  3. Is buying two pizzas for €14 cheaper than buying two singles at €8 each?

• Higher order:

  1. Why do you think supermarkets offer deals like this?
  2. How can identifying deals help us when budgeting?
  3. Can you think of other examples where buying in bulk saves money?

Development (d):

• Lower order:

  1. What information do you need to put under Income in your budget?
  2. How do you calculate total expenses?
  3. What happens if your expenses are more than your income?

• Higher order:

  1. How do you decide which ingredients or dishes provide the best value for money?
  2. How can budgeting help keep a meal healthy and within cost limits?
  3. What would you do if your budget was exceeded during your research?

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Language Development Opportunities:

• Use of mathematical vocabulary: budget, income, expenses, savings, total cost, deal, value for money, three-course meal, catalogue, cost comparison.
• Encouraging structured discussion and explanation using full sentences about budgeting choices and reasoning.

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Literacy Development Opportunities:

• Reading comprehension of catalogue text and prices.
• Creating a budget table with labelled columns and clear headings.
• Writing calculations and explanations in copybooks.

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Teaching Methodologies:

• All Subjects: Talk and Discussion, Collaborative/Co-operative Learning (paired work), Active Learning, Problem Solving, Using Local Environment (real catalogues).
• For Mathematics: Using cognitively challenging practical tasks, Promoting Maths Talk, fostering productive disposition towards money management, Emphasising mathematical modelling through budget templates.

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Introduction (10 minutes):

Stimulus:

• Display a pizza menu with a deal example: 1 small pizza €8, deal 2 small pizzas €14.
• Pupils complete a short exercise sheet calculating price differences and deciding if it is a “deal”.

Elicit Prior Knowledge:

• Class discussion on what they know about budgeting, spending, and deals they may have seen before.

Share Learning Intention:

• “Today we will use what we know about budgeting to plan a healthy family 3-course dinner within a budget of €80.”
• “We will use real catalogues to decide which foods to buy and create a budget sheet.”

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Development (30 minutes):

• Pupils work in pairs, using Lidl or Aldi catalogues to select ingredients for a starter, main course, and dessert.
• Pupils record prices and quantities on worksheet and in copies, drawing the budget table with headings: Income (€80), Expenses (items/prices), Total Cost, Savings (difference).
• Teacher circulates, scaffolding calculations and encouraging comparison of deals and healthy options.
• Mid-activity check: pairs share their best value find with another pair to foster discussion on value for money and healthy choices.

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Conclusion (10 minutes):

Cognitive:

• Pairs present one chosen dish and justify budgeting decisions.
• Class discussion reviewing if budgets were kept, what savings they made, and how they ensured the meal was healthy and economical.

Social:

• Reflect on working in pairs, sharing ideas, and listening to others.

Transition:

• Explain how budgeting skills can help in real life and announce next lesson’s follow up activity on meal planning for a different number of people or dietary requirements.

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Universal Design for Learning:

Pupil(s)	Reason(s)	Method(s)	Additional Comments
Visual learners	Need visual cues and examples	Use catalogues and visual budget templates	Large font catalogues available on request
EAL learners	Language barriers	Pair with confident peers, use word banks	Encourage use of vocabulary charts
Pupils with maths difficulties	Need scaffolded tasks	Provide partially completed budget templates	Use calculator support as needed

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The Learning Environment:

• Seating in pairs for collaboration.
• Access to Aldi/Lidl catalogues (paper or digital).
• Whiteboard for pizza deal stimuli and budget template example.
• Copies and exercise sheets distributed.

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Resources:

• Pizza menu exercise sheet with pricing and deal questions.
• Aldi and Lidl paper catalogues or digital copies displayed.
• Budget template format for pupils to copy into copies.
• Whiteboard and markers.
• Calculators optional for support.

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This lesson plan follows the Irish Curriculum Framework for Mathematics, specifically the Measures strand unit Money, supporting the development of financial literacy through real-life problem solving and decision making, contributing to key curricular principles of active and collaborative learning, cross-curricular integration, and promoting wellbeing.