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Coupon Clipping (Updated!)

Are coupons always a good deal?

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Coupon Clipping (Updated!)

Are coupons always a good deal?

Login to add lessons to your favorites

Check it out! This lesson was just updated in September 2024, and we hope you love the new and improved version. If you've already prepped an earlier version, fear not, you can still find those here through Thursday December 5, 2024.

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Coupon Clipping - Student Handout.pdf
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Coupon Clipping - Teacher Guide.pdf
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2023-2024 Versions

In the fall of 2024, Citizen Math released updated versions of every lesson in our library, plus a few new ones! We know you may have already prepped an earlier version or planned a repeat of last year, so we're continuing to make these earlier versions available through Thursday December 5, 2024.

You can find the new lessons through the regular search, and we hope you love them as much as we do. You can read more about these updates in Our Community.

Are coupons always a good deal? Retailers like JCPenney use coupons to offer their shoppers great-looking deals, but there’s a catch: Before putting an item on sale, a store often first raises its price.

In this lesson, students reason with percents and proportions to evaluate enticing coupons and debate whether retailers should be allowed to raise the price of items in order to then put them on sale.

REAL WORLD TAKEAWAYS

  • Stores often inflate sticker prices so that they can offer big discounts to customers.
  • People have emotional or gut reactions to special offers; the same price can feel different depending on the “deal."
  • In 2011, JCPenney, which was known for its sales and coupons, implemented a “Fair and Square” pricing policy through which it reduced sticker prices and mostly eliminated coupons and discounts. Sales plummeted, because customers missed the coupons and didn’t feel like they were getting a good deal.

MATH OBJECTIVES

  • Use percents to calculate sale prices after a discount
  • Given a new price and a percent discount, use proportional reasoning to determine the original price
This complex task is best as a culminating unit activity after students have developed formal knowledge and conceptual understanding.
Grade 7
Percents & Proportions
Grade 7
Percents & Proportions
Content Standards 7.RP.3 Use proportional relationships to solve multistep ratio and percent problems. Examples: simple interest, tax, markups and markdowns, gratuities and commissions, fees, percent increase and decrease, percent error. 7.EE.4 Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world or mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities. (a) Solve word problems leading to equations of the form px + q = r and p(x + q) = r, where p, q, and r are specific rational numbers. Solve equations of these forms fluently. Compare an algebraic solution to an arithmetic solution, identifying the sequence of the operations used in each approach. For example, the perimeter of a rectangle is 54 cm. Its length is 6 cm. What is its width? (b) Solve word problems leading to inequalities of the form px + q > r or px + q < r, where p, q, and r are specific rational numbers. Graph the solution set of the inequality and interpret it in the context of the problem. For example: As a salesperson, you are paid $50 per week plus $3 per sale. This week you want your pay to be at least $100. Write an inequality for the number of sales you need to make, and describe the solutions.
Mathematical Practices MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

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Percents & Proportions
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

Big Foot Conspiracy (Updated!)

Should people with small feet pay less for shoes?

Grade 7
Ratios & Proportions
Great anytime, including at the beginning of a unit before students have any formal introduction to the topic.

Common Cents (Updated!)

Should the United States get rid of the penny?

Grade 7
Rational Numbers
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

To Have and to Hold (Updated!)

Is renting a storage unit a good idea?

Grade 7
Equations & Expressions
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

Axle Roads (Updated!)

How do vehicles turn so smoothly?

Grade 7
Measuring Circles
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

Grading Scales of Justice (Updated!)

What’s the best grading policy?

Grade 7
Percents & Proportions
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.