Costs and Pricing

Overview

In this 60-minute lesson for Year 7-8 students in a Kura Kaupapa Māori, students will learn about business costs and pricing strategies with a focus on sustainability, ensuring their t-shirt business is profitable and benefits the environment and community. This lesson is Lesson 4 of 6 in the "Creating a T-Shirt Business" unit.

The lesson closely aligns with Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, particularly reflecting Phase 3 (Years 7–8) learning areas that emphasize "Seeing ourselves in the wider world and advocating with and for others." It integrates financial mathematics, enterprise, and sustainability as key focus areas, ensuring students develop crucial competencies through Māori values and tikanga practices.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Understand the different types of business costs (fixed, variable, and hidden costs) and their impact on pricing.
• Calculate product pricing to ensure profitability.
• Explain how sustainable business practices can positively impact both the environment and community.
• Apply Māori values (kaitiakitanga – guardianship of the environment, manaakitanga – caring for people) in making business decisions.
• Demonstrate collaboration and communication skills working in groups to develop pricing strategies.

Alignment to Te Marautanga o Aotearoa

• Phase 3 Progress Outcome: Students advocate ethically and responsibly for self and others, engaging with economic concepts in local/global contexts.
• Achievement Objectives:
  • Develop financial capability by creating plans and calculating costs and pricing (Mathematics and Statistics, Financial Mathematics strand).
  • Explore enterprise concepts including innovation and sustainability through practical business contexts (Technology Learning Area).
  • Express ideas and understanding through oral, written, and visual language, incorporating te reo Māori and tikanga (English Learning Area).
• Values: Kaitiakitanga (ecological sustainability), Manaakitanga (respect and care), Whanaungatanga (relationships and collaboration).
• Key Competencies: Thinking; Relating to others; Using language, symbols, and texts; Managing self.

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Materials Needed

• Calculators
• Play money or tokens representing money
• Whiteboard and markers
• Worksheets including cost breakdown template and pricing calculation sheet
• Flipchart paper and markers for group work
• Resources on sustainable business practices (pictures or brief case studies related to kaupapa Māori businesses)
• Example T-shirt materials cost sheet (fabric, printing, labour, packaging)

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Lesson Breakdown

1. Karakia and Whakataukī to Set the Tone (5 minutes)

• Begin the lesson with a short karakia.
• Introduce a whakataukī related to guardianship and responsibility such as:
  “He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata.”
• Connect this to the responsibility we carry in business for people and the whenua (land).

2. Introduction to Costs and Pricing (10 minutes)

• Present key terms: fixed costs (e.g., rent), variable costs (e.g., materials), hidden costs (e.g., environmental impact).
• Use simple examples related to the t-shirt business (e.g., cost of fabric, ink, electricity).
• Demonstrate how total costs affect pricing decisions.
• Discuss how sustainable choices (eco-friendly fabric, local suppliers) may have different cost implications but benefit the whānau and whenua.

Success Criteria:

• Students can define and give examples of fixed, variable, and hidden costs.
• Students recognise the link between costs and pricing.

3. Hands-on Group Activity: Calculate Sustainable Pricing (25 minutes)

• Divide the class into four groups (5 students each).

• Each group receives:

  • A cost breakdown worksheet with mixed costs (including some sustainable options).
  • Instructions to calculate a selling price that covers all costs and includes a profit margin (suggest 20%).
  • Consideration of environmental/community benefits in their choices.

• Groups use calculators/play money to work out pricing.

• Encourage use of Māori values during decision-making — discussion prompts:

  • How does this price reflect care for the environment (kaitiakitanga)?
  • How can this pricing support community wellbeing (manaakitanga)?

Success Criteria:

• Students accurately calculate a price covering total costs plus profit.
• Students explain the sustainable choices behind their pricing.

4. Group Presentations and Peer Feedback (10 minutes)

• Each group shares their pricing strategy and sustainability rationale with the class.
• Peers offer feedback/support using positive whakataukī or affirmations.
• Encourage the use of te reo Māori terms and tikanga in presentations.

Success Criteria:

• Students articulate their reasoning clearly using appropriate language.
• Students engage respectfully and give constructive feedback.

5. Wrap-up and Reflection (5 minutes)

• Recap key learning points – costs, pricing, kaupapa Māori values in business.
• Ask students to write or draw one way they can use sustainable practices in their own t-shirt business.

6. Summary Whakataukī and Karakia (5 minutes)

• Close the lesson with a whakataukī about sustainability or responsibility.
• End with a karakia to reinforce the learning and tikanga.

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Differentiation and Support Strategies

• For dyslexic learners:

  • Provide worksheets with dyslexia-friendly fonts and ample spacing.
  • Use clear, simple language with visual supports (icons/pictures).
  • Pair peer-reading or discuss instructions orally before tasks.

• For diverse learners (including acceleration or needs):

  • Extension:
    • Ask advanced learners to research Māori business models that use sustainability and create a short presentation or poster on this for the class.
    • Provide challenge questions such as: “How would environmental costs like waste or energy use be factored into pricing in a real business?”

• ESOL learners:

  • Pre-teach key vocabulary with real objects or pictures.
  • Encourage the use of bilingual dictionaries or support from fluent speakers.

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Assessment

• Formative assessment through observation during group work and presentations.
• Use a simple rubric aligned with success criteria focusing on financial understanding, application of sustainable principles, and use of Māori values and language.
• Collect student reflections to gauge individual understanding.

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Māori Cultural Integration

• Embed kaupapa Māori values such as kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga in all discussions and decision-making processes.
• Use te reo Māori vocabulary consistently (e.g., utu – cost, painga – benefit, whānau – family, whenua – land).
• Recognise the importance of marae tikanga in group collaboration and respect.

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Summary of Success Criteria

Activity	Success Criteria
Cost and pricing introduction	Can define costs and describe pricing relationship
Pricing calculation activity	Accurate pricing covering costs + profit; sustainability choices explained
Group presentation	Clear explanation using te reo Māori and tikanga; engagement in respectful feedback
Reflection	Identifies at least one sustainable practice to apply

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This lesson plan is designed to actively engage Year 7-8 tamariki in meaningful and culturally responsive learning about sustainable business practices aligned to the Te Marautanga o Aotearoa curriculum framework, integrating critical numeracy and business skills with Māori worldviews and tikanga 【16:future focus and achievement objectives†New Zealand Curriculum.html】.