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4 to 8 (middle school)
math, economics, American history
approximately 1 class period
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Focusing on New York City cultural and social life in the 1850s, this
activity asks students to consider what things cost 150 years ago and
what those costs would be in today's money. It also asks students to
compare costs and services between the 1850s and today to find out if
things are cheaper or more expensive today, in inflation-adjusted terms.
This math activity involves several basic calculations that involve
adding, subtracting, multiplication, and division skills. It is best
done as an individual activity, either at home or in class.
Begin by having your students read the article "Step Right Up!."
Hold a class discussion about access to and costs of popular culture.
You can begin by having them list cultural activities. Which ones of
these are cheap enough for ordinary people to afford regularly? Which
are too expensive? Why are the costs what they are?
Now have them consider inflation. Why do prices rise? Have they had
experience themselves with rising prices? (Movie tickets are a prime
example.) How about technology? How does this affect the price and
quality of goods and services? (Computers are a good example.)
As noted above, this activity involves a series of four mathematics
problems for the students to solve. These problems are designed to get
students to figure out what items and services in 1850s
New York would cost in today's dollars. It requires that they consider
how much workers made then and now before they complete the problem.
Thus, each problem requires several calculations. The activity page
lays out how to perform the different calculations. It might be best to
solve one of the problems for the students as a class before having them
do the other three on their own. The activity also asks
them to compare costs. This requires them to check prices, either in
person, on the phone, or on the Web.
What's the Cost?
If this activity has taught us one thing, it's the value of things and how
those values change. Products change, technologies change, tastes change.
All of these things have an effect on prices and on our wallets. And maybe
that's the most important lesson of all: the true value of something is not
its price in dollars and cents. Real value comes from how hard we work to
get something and how much we appreciate what we have.
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Early New York