November 27 Shopping activity

November 27
Introduction: You have decided to compare prices in a major way. You will shop in five different countries for the same merchandise, convert the prices using current exchange rates, and choose the best buy (excluding shipping costs!).
Task: Using internet resources for shopping in the United States, Spain, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain, you will select 4 items to buy in all five countries. Once you find the local cost, you will convert that price to US dollars and compare the costs.
Resources:
Spain shopping: http://www.elcorteingles.es
Yahoo Australia Shopping: http://au.shopping.yahoo.com/
Yahoo Canada Shopping: http://ca.shopping.yahoo.com/
Yahoo UK and Ireland Shopping: http://shopping.uk.yahoo.com/
Yahoo US Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com/
Currency Exchange Rates: http://www.x-rates.com/tables/USD.html
Another Exchange Rate Converter: http://www.oanda.com/converter/classic

Process:
1. Your group will browse the online shopping resources for the United States, Spain, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain.
2. You are shopping for the following items: 1. an ipod nano 2. a Nokia N95 smartphone 3. a PSP console 4. a Nintendo Wii console
3. Look up the cost in all four countries for each of the items.
4. Using current exchange rates, convert all prices to US dollars.
5. Make a table and a graph to illustrate results.
6. Write a group report describing your results. Is the cost of each item the same in all countries? Is there a pattern where all items are more or less in some countries? Can you find an explanation?

Conclusion:

In this activity, you will use the internet as a data source for a problem solving activity. You will be connecting real-world shopping and currency data to analysis and representation. You will use your reasoning skills to reach a conclusion based on the data, and will communicate your conclusions in a written report.
(Thank you, Ruth!)