Workshop
• Video explains the Shop Around game.
• Groups play the Shop Around game.
• Groups make a graph to figure out who won
   the game.
• Discuss math issues.
• Video wrap up and summary; take home kits.

TV and a VCR
• To show the various video segments throughout the workshop.

Participants
• Parents and children of all ages.

Take-home messages
You do math every day.
In making shopping choices in the Shop Around game, parents use rates and variables—two important math concepts.

Rates and variables are taught in middle school.
Parents in this workshop use rates to find the best buys and make intuitive trade-offs that relate to variables, both are important in middle school math.

Today's classrooms are different.
In today's classrooms, algebra concepts and skills are part of the middle school math program.

You can help your child with math.
Parents can make sure that their children get experiences with algebra at the middle school level by looking for assignments with tables, graphs, patterns and variables.