Buying and Selling: Setting the Context Activity 3 Buying and Selling Essential Information s1

Consumer Education

Price is Right Activity getting learners to estimate weights and dimensions for calculating postage and packing, when sending imaginary goods to a buyer, sold in an online auction. Includes a weights comparison guide and wish list proforma.

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1 Buying and selling: Unit 2 Activity 6 The price is right!

This document provides activities to use with learners/ participants/ service users; the material has been written to include education focuses on literacy, numeracy, functional skills and English for speakers of other languages within a formal education setting. However if you wish to use the activities within an informal group or as part of an awareness raising campaign you will only need p3 onwards. Learning resources are not designed for tutors/ educators to advise their participants on specific cases; where necessary participants should be directed to the appropriate advice agency.

Unit/ Activity focus Consumer education Literacy, language and numeracy objectives Numeracy curriculum refs Key/ Functional objectives Skills curriculum refs Estimating weight and Develop awareness of sources Estimate and calculate costs for items and AN N1/L1.8 AN N2/L1.7 KS N1.2 dimensions for calculating of information about P&P costs postage and packaging using scales, tables AN N1/L1.9 AN N2/L1.8 FS Maths L1 postage and packing and percentages AN N2/L1.1 AN N2/L1.9 KS N2.1 Understand the postage AN N2/L1.2 AN N2/L1.10 KS N2.2 implications of item weight and AN N2/L1.3 AN N2/L1.11 FS Maths L2 size AN N2/L1.5 AN MSS1/L1.1 AN N2/L1.6 AN MSS1/L1.4 Extension activity: Calculate percentages AN N2/L2.8

RESOURCES AND PREPARATION 2 Computers with internet access and data projector, if available BS U2 Activity 5 The price is right! Advert forms: completed slips from previous activity BS U2 Activity 6a The price is right! Weight comparison guide: one for each group BS U2 Activity 6b The price is right! Wish list: one for each learner Rulers and tape measures Kitchen and bathroom scales Sticky labels or post-it notes Calculators

NUMERACY FOCUS

SUGGESTED PROCEDURE  Set the context by explaining to learners that they are now going to imagine that they are selling their item to a buyer who lives in another part of the country and so need to work out the cost of postage and packaging (P&P).  Learners first write the price for their item on a post-it note and stick it on the back of their advert. They should not let other learners see the price.  Elicit factors to consider for calculating P&P, i.e. dimensions and weight. Then ask learners to work out the cost of P&P for their item. This can be done online if computers are available at using the Price finder tool at www.royalmail.com/portal/rm.  Using scales: – if scales are not available, learners can use the Royal Mail’s weight comparison guide to estimate the weight of their items – see BS U2 Activity 6a The price is right! Weight comparison guide sheet. – If scales are available, learners first estimate the weight using the Royal Mail weight comparison guide and then weigh the item and compare the estimated and real weights.  Learners now write the cost of P&P under the price of their item on the post-it note and stick it on the back of their advert.

3  Display the small ads around the room, giving each advert a separate reference number and keeping the prices out of sight on the reverse.  Agree an imaginary total budget with learners, e.g. £50 each. Give each learner a BS U2 Activity 6b The price is right! Wish list sheet.  Explain to learners they need to move around the room, read the adverts and choose up to five items that they are interested in buying within the agreed budget. They need to record each item on their Wish list, and what they estimate the price and P&P will be. To help them estimate the P&P, they should refer to the Estimation of weight and dimensions sheet and consider the dimensions and weight of the items they choose.  Tell the learners to calculate the estimated total cost of the items plus P&P on their wish list.  Now ask each learner to transfer the post-it notes with the price for their item and cost of P&P to the front of each advert. Learners now calculate the actual cost of their wish list, including P&P, and work out which items they can afford within the agreed budget.  Ask questions about the difference between the actual and estimated costs. Lead into a discussion about postage and packaging, the importance of budgeting and estimation as a useful tool.

Ideas for Level 2 and/or extension activities

Ask learners to calculate what percentage of the total cost of their wish list is P&P.

4 Buying and selling: Unit 2 Activity 5 The price is right! Advert forms The price is right! Advert forms

Category: Item:

Description :

Contact name: Ref. no.

Category: Item:

Description :

Category: Item:

Description :

Buying and selling:

5 Unit 2 Activity 6a The price is right! Weight comparison guide

The price is right! Weight comparison guide

The comparison guide below will give you example weights for many items.

Remember that if your item is too large to go through a letterbox, you’ll need to post it at the Post Office anyway, and you will be able to weigh it there.

Item Weight

Letter or greeting card 30 g

Standard DL envelope with 4 sheets of A4 44 g

Compact disc in bubble envelope 130 g

A4 envelope with 20 sheets of A4 160 g

Mobile phone in bubble envelope 180 g

DVD in bubble envelope 190 g

Video cassette in bubble envelope 295 g

400 page paperback book in bubble envelope 310 g

Pair of jeans 500 g

Glossy magazine in bubble envelope 585 g

Pair of trainers 1000 g

Electric drill 2 kg

Medium sized suitcase containing clothing 20 kg

Table reproduced with kind permission from Royal Mail Group

6 Buying and selling: Unit 2 Activity 6b The price is right! Wish list

The price is right! Wish list

Estimated costs Actual costs

Estimated Estimated Actual total Item Estimated Actual price of Actual cost of cost of total (item (item plus price of item item P & P P & P plus P & P) P & P)

Estimated total cost Actual total cost