Our Soup Fundraiser

Overview

Students launch a camp soup fundraiser by exploring a realistic budget. In teams, they identify costs, income, profit and a fundraising goal, then use a number line and sample ingredient prices to make and explain a simple financial decision.

Learning intentions

• WALT use financial vocabulary to describe a fundraising situation.
• WALT distinguish between costs, income, profit and a fundraising goal.
• WALT represent money amounts on a number line.
• WALT work collaboratively to make and justify a budget decision.

Success criteria

• I can explain what cost, income, profit and fundraising goal mean.
• I can add costs and calculate income or profit.
• I can place money amounts in the correct position on a number line.
• I can explain one decision my team made using mathematical evidence.

Curriculum links

• Number: use additive strategies with whole numbers and decimals in money contexts.
• Algebraic thinking: recognise and describe relationships between costs, sales and profit.
• Statistics and probability: interpret information from a practical scenario and communicate a conclusion.
• Mathematical and statistical practices: problem solve, reason, represent ideas and use precise mathematical language.
• Financial capability: make informed decisions about spending, earning and saving towards a goal.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Hook and number-line warm-up Open with the soup fundraiser hook. Show a visual of a camp kitchen and ask: “If our class needs $240 for camp, how could selling soup help?” Students stand or point along a classroom number line to locate amounts such as $0, $2.50, $10, $25 and $100. Briefly discuss which amounts are greater and how they know.

2. 5–12 minutes – Build shared vocabulary Use the key vocabulary slides to introduce:

• Cost: money we spend.
• Income: money we receive.
• Profit: income minus costs.
• Fundraising goal: the amount we are trying to reach. Model a simple example: ingredients cost $18, soup sales bring in $45, so profit is $27. Students repeat the explanation to a partner using the sentence stem: “The profit is ___ because ___.”

3. 12–17 minutes – Explore the scenario Present the class challenge on the fundraiser scenario slide: “Our class wants to raise $240 for camp. One batch makes 30 cups of soup. Ingredients and supplies cost $36. Each cup sells for $3.” Check understanding before calculating. Ask: “What information tells us the cost? What tells us the income? What might we need to find out?”

4. 17–30 minutes – Team budgeting challenge Place students in mixed-ability teams of four and assign roles: reader, calculator/checker, recorder and reporter. Distribute the soup fundraiser budgeting sheet and, for teams needing a more concrete entry point, the budgeting scenario cards. Teams use the given prices and scenario information to calculate the income and profit for one batch, then determine how many batches are needed to reach or exceed $240. Encourage teams to show calculations, use a number line and check whether their answer is reasonable. Circulate and ask: “What does this number represent?” and “How do you know your team has reached the goal?”

5. 30–39 minutes – Compare and justify decisions Return to the team discussion prompts. Each team compares its answer with another team and explains one choice. Invite two or three teams to share different methods, such as repeated addition, a table, a number line or multiplication. Discuss why a result may need to be rounded up when buying whole batches. Address the difference between total income and profit.

6. 39–45 minutes – Plenary and exit response Use the final reflection slide. Students independently complete the final section of the soup fundraiser budgeting sheet: “If one batch costs $36 and earns $90 income, the profit is ___.” They also write one sentence defining either cost, income, profit or fundraising goal. Collect sheets to identify students needing further support in Lesson 2.

Resources

• the Soup Sale Maths Challenge lesson deck
• the soup fundraiser budgeting sheet
• the budgeting scenario cards
• Board or interactive display
• Floor or desk number line marked from $0 to $100
• Calculators, optional for checking
• Pencils, highlighters and mini-whiteboards
• Sample ingredient and packaging price list
• Four role cards per team

Assessment

• Listen for accurate use of cost, income, profit and fundraising goal during partner and team talk.
• Check team calculations, representations and whether students recognise that profit is income minus costs.
• Use the final worksheet response to assess individual understanding and plan the next lesson’s grouping.

Differentiation

• Support: provide a worked example, a vocabulary strip with symbols and sentence stems, highlighted information and a pre-drawn number line. Allow calculators after students have explained the operation.
• Dyslexia-friendly access: read the scenario aloud, use clear sans-serif print, short instructions, generous spacing, colour-coded costs and income, and accept spoken explanations or diagrams.
• ADHD-friendly access: use active number-line movement, four clear team roles, a visible timer, brief checkpoints and a choice of recording method.
• Extension: ask students to investigate how the profit changes if cups sell for $2.50 or $3.50, then recommend a price with reasons.