How to Use Thanksgiving Menu Math to Improve Functional Skills

If you have read the blog for a while, you know I really like materials to be interesting and functional for our students, especially our older students. Just because they are becoming adults, doesn’t mean they can’t have seasonal and interesting stuff to do. So I created Thanksgiving Menu Math and there is a freebie in the preview. When I wanted to develop a Thanksgiving activity, and have a student who is working on reading and understanding menus, this seemed like a natural match.

$As a special education teacher, you know how important it is for our students of all ages to have functional but interesting work materials. Just because our students need functional skills, doesn't mean they can't have seasonal activities as well. This Thanksgiving Menu Math set of activities focuses on reading menus and finding prices for Thanksgiving dinner. And there is a FREE activity in the preview! Click to check it out!$ Save

What Thanksgiving Menu Math Includes

Thanksgiving Menu Math focuses on task cards that ask the student read the menu and identify the prices for items or add prices for 2 items together. I’ve created 3 menus of Thanksgiving dinner items. The menus are all the same in terms of dishes at the restaurant but each one has different prices.

Thanksgiving Cafe has prices in whole dollars only.
Harvest Haven has prices in dollars and quarters (e.g., $3.75) and
Pumpkin Pie Plaza has prices with all combinations of dollars and change.

This activity does not include money but instead asks the student to read the menu and identify the price for the items.

Just because our students are becoming adults, doesn’t mean they can’t have seasonal and interesting stuff to do. Thanksgiving Menu Math. #autism

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Built-In Differentiation

For students who are just learning to identify prices and reading restaurant words, there are task cards that include picture cues of the items on the menu. For these cards, you can also cut out the prices for those cards and have the student Velcro the price to the correct task card (and avoid writing). All of these cards have only 1 priced item on each card.

IEP GOAL FOR THIS LEVEL

Given picture cues and a menu, the student will find the corresponding item on the menu and write in (or match) the price for that item correctly on 9/10 opportunities.

In addition to single item cards that students read, find the price on the menu and write in the price on the task card in dry erase marker, there are also 2 sets of cards that require students to find and add 2 products from the menus together to get the answer. I made one set in which the student just writes in the answer and one set of alternative cards (same content) that include boxes for writing in the first price and second price and add them for the total in a third box.

IEP GOAL FOR THIS LEVEL

When given a word problem requiring combining two prices from a restaurant menu, the student will locate the correct two items and add the item prices for the correct total on 9/10 opportunities.

In the free sample (download the preview), you get the basic menu and 12 of the one item write-in task cards as well as the answer keys and directions with more information about the product.

HOW I USE THANKSGIVING MENU MATH

Finally, you can use these items in a variety of ways from structured work systems to direct instruction. Some extension activities could be

have the student use the menus to plan a healthy meal;
have the student find the bills and coins needed to make a purchase off the menu;
and match pictures to pictures on the menus for nonreaders

If you have students who would benefit from this type of activity, pop over to my store and check it out. And make sure to download the FREE ACTIVITY in the preview there too!

Until next time,

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