For years products have been decreasing in size, but not in price! This is known as Shrinkflation and in this lesson, students will learn what the concept means as well as how to calculate the percentage change in product sizes and then how consumers can fight back. This is a great lesson for a consumerism class, a financial literacy class or even a foods class!

Set

• Begin by showing students the Bell Ringer Images and ask them “What’s going on?” They should easily be able to spot the differences in product sizes.
• Follow the bellringer with the Chat Station prompts to see how much they know about the topic. Place students into pairs or small groups and give them a response sheet to record their answers as you display each prompt on the screen.
• After responses are completed by the students, go through the prompts one by one and discuss their answers. This is a good time to discuss and add more information about shrinkflation. Here is a link to the article that inspired this lesson that will give you an overview.

Materials

• iPads or Laptops
• Projector & Screen
• Video Recording Devices
• White Copy Paper
• Colored Markers

Activities

• Once students are familiar with the concept of shrinkflation, show them the formula for calculating the percentage change in product sizes.
• Print off the products to calculate from the slidedeck and lay them around the room. Students will calculate the percent change in the product sizes and record them on the Gallery Walk Calculation Form. Note: prices reflect what they were at the time this lesson was created!
• When they are finished with their calculations, you can have them self-check their answers with the Mystery Picture. As they plug in their answers, a picture will begin to form. If the answer is not correct, nothing will happen…no new blocks of color will populate the picture. That tells them that their answer is incorrect and they will need to recheck their math. Often it is a rounding up or down issue. Once they have the mystery picture completed in full, they can show it to you for completion or participation points (your call). The mystery picture was created/shared with me by a friend of my son’s and I cannot edit it so please make a copy of it). If you need the key to the gallery walk calculations, email me (kim@familyconsumersciences.com) and I’ll be happy to share.
• Go over the final slide in the slidedeck that covers “What’s a Consumer to Do?” before assigning the final Paper Slides Project. Ideally, for the paper slides project, students should be in groups of 3.
• Take a little time to explain the Shrinkflation–Fight Back Paper Slides Project and demonstrate via the tutorial on how paper slides work created by a coworker and myself.
• When paper slide videos are finished, have students share them with the class. These can also be shared as announcement for your school if your school shows them or included in newsletters that go out to parents by inserting scannable QR Codes.

Attachments

• Bell Ringer, Chat Stations & Shrinkflation Presentation (PDF)
• Chat Station Response Form (PDF)
• Gallery Walk Calculations Form (PDF)
• Mystery Picture Google Sheets (please make a copy) 
• Shrinkflation Fight Back Project (PDF)