Money skillsSeasonal and holidays
Thanksgiving Dinner on a Budget
Thanksgiving Math Project Middle & High School
- Grades
- Grades 6–10
- Formats
- Google Slides, PDF, PowerPoint
- Pages
- 22
- Answer keys
- Included
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Plan a Thanksgiving dinner for 8 people on a $120 budget! In this no-prep Thanksgiving math project, middle and high school students shop from a realistic grocery store ad, compare unit prices, scale recipes with fractions, apply coupons and sales tax, and prove with math that they stayed on budget. Real-world, engaging and different for every student.
What's included
- Teacher guide with 3-day pacing, materials and differentiation (support, on level, challenge)
- Standards page (Common Core math + Jump$tart personal finance)
- Student project overview with mission, menu requirements and checklist
- 2-page "Harvest Fresh Market" grocery ad with 40+ items, sale prices and digital coupons
- Warm-up: Read the Ad (8 questions)
- Menu planner with guest allergy check and estimate
- Unit Price Showdown: name brand vs. store brand (6 comparisons)
- Scaling Recipes: multiply fractions to scale 2 recipes up and down
- Turkey Math: pounds per person, cost and safe thawing timeline
- Shopping list & cost calculator with coupons and 6% sales tax
- 8 Holiday Twist Cards (surprise guests, sold-out items, price jumps, budget cuts...) + response sheet
- Leftovers & food waste percent problems
- Reflection questions + exit ticket
- 20-point rubric
- Complete answer keys + a sample completed budget
How to use it
Use it the week before Thanksgiving in math, consumer math, financial literacy, FACS, advisory or homeroom. It works as a 3-day project, a sub plan or an enrichment activity. Print and go: no prep beyond cutting the twist cards.
Skills practiced
Budgetingunit rates & unit pricesmultiplying fractionspercents, discounts & sales taxdecision makingwritten reasoning
