By: Vanessa Gallagher, Kait McLaughlin

Build Your Own Bake Shop

Description

In this interactive lesson, students will apply mathematical concepts to design and run a fictional donut shop. They will use percentages, ratios, proportions, and geometry to determine pricing, plan shop layouts, and calculate profits. Through a mix of virtual and hands-on activities, students will analyze costs, set markup prices, and predict sales using graphs and data. By the end of the lesson, students will present their business plans, incorporating both mathematical reasoning and creative decision-making. This activity connects math to real-world business applications, making learning both engaging and practical.

Introduction

1. Show images of different types of donut shops (local, chains, fancy, simple) and ask students sample questions:
   • What makes a donut shop successful?
   • How do you think they decide the prices for their donuts?
   • How would you design your own donut shop? What would it look like? What would you sell?
2. Ask your students if they have ever seen or worked in a business that used math to manage costs and profits. Then, explain that in today’s lesson, they will create their own bake shop, applying math concepts to determine pricing, layouts, and profits, while learning how to run a business in a fun, interactive way.

Working on it

1. Students will begin by choosing the type of donut shop they want to create (local, upscale, trendy, etc.).
2. They will use math to calculate the cost of ingredients and determine the pricing of different products based on cost, markup, and marker demand. To better inform these decisions, students will be provided with the cost of each item, rent, employee salary, and more.
3. Students will also plan the layout of their shop, applying geometry concepts to ensure they have enough space for different sections (ex: the counter).
4. Students will incorporate coding elements to build a basic digital model of their shop, simulating pricing, sales, and inventory management. Students will create sales using a randomized model, providing the shop with a variable number of orders for different items each day to simulate a real shop.

Consolidation

1. Ask students to share the mathematical functions they used for calculating costs, setting prices, and predicting profits. Which math concepts were most useful in planning their donut shop?
2. Encourage students to explain their decision-making process: how did they decide on prices, shop layout, and sales projections?
3. Students who feel comfortable can present their donut shop business plans, showing their price charts, sales predictions, and store designs.
4. If possible, allow students to visit each other’s projects by having them share their code or display their digital models on a projector. Discuss different approaches and creative solutions students applied to their bake shops.
5. At the end of the simulated month (30 day period), students will use their mathematical business model to decide whether or not they could stay in business, and how to better improve profits moving forward. This will be done in a short reflection.

Resource Information:

Tags: Math, Business, Budgeting, Scratch

Main Subject:  Math, Business

Other Integrated Subjects: Coding

Grade(s): 7

Learning to Code: Yes

Coding to Learn: Yes

URL Link to Code: This is the link to the Bake Shop Code
URL Link to Code: This is the link to the Donut Shop Code