Before you begin shopping for toys this holiday season, check out this Tampa Bay Times article about toy safety. How does this information affect your decisions about toy-buying? 

If you are tired of thinking about toys that can spy, check out some nostalgia. Every year there is a "hot" toy. ​

• Are the toys from the 1950s and 1960s the same as the toys we have today?
• How are the toys from the past different to the toys of today?
• How are toys from the past similar today? Which toys are still popular?
• Were there any toys in the video that you have never seen before? Which ones?
• Which toys would you like to have? Why?

Now think about the "hot" toys of the year as predicted by,Most Wanted Toys by TTPM and ​Toy Insider Hot 20.  The current "hottest" toy is  Fingerlings, according to .  For more information check out the 

1. Article on Fingerlings (including How to Video) 
2. ​Fake Fingerlings  
3. Restraining order against Fakes
4. Forbes Article (how to snag a Fingerling, Hatchimal, or other popular toy)

Based on the information in the articles, what advice would you give someone who is trying to buy one of these "hot" toys? Watch this clip from Jingle All the Way. What advice would you give to this dad?

SS.4.FL.2.6 Predict how peoples spending choices are influenced by prices as well as many other factors, including advertising, the spending choices of others, and peer pressure. How does the information on toys that spy affect your spending choices?
SS.8.FL.2.1 Explain why when deciding what to buy, consumers may choose to gather information from a variety of sources. Describe how the quality and usefulness of information provided by sources can vary greatly from source to source. Explain that, while many sources provide valuable information, other sources provide information that is deliberately misleading. How does the information in the article impact your buying decisions? 
SS.912.FL.2.3 Discuss that when buying a good, consumers may consider various aspects of the product including the products features. Explain why for goods that last for a longer period of time, the consumer should consider the products durability and maintenance costs. Why is it important to conduct research before buying a toy? What did you learn from the article? How would this impact your buying decisions?
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Many people prepare a turkey for Thanksgiving and other holiday dinners. Check out this Tampa Bay Times article on how to buy and prepare a turkey dinner. Then check out the grocery flyers in Tampa Bay Times Circulars to plan the rest of your holiday feast. Make a budget. Search for bargains. When you save money on the holiday dinner, you have more money to spend on Black Friday shopping!

Florida Standards Activities:
SS.4.FL.2.7 Planning for spending can help people make informed choices. Develop a budget plan for spending, saving, and managing income. Use the Tampa Bay Times Circulars to create a budget for a holiday dinner. 
SS.4.FL.3.2 Explain that when people save money, they give up the opportunity to buy things now in order to buy things later. Have students use Tampa Bay Times Circulars to plan their holiday dinner. After they choose the items they want, have them do some comparison shopping to see how much money they can save. If they save now, they can buy something later.

SS.8.FL.2.5 Discuss the fact that people may revise their budget based on unplanned expenses and changes in income. Have students use Tampa Bay Times Circulars to plan a holiday dinner. Ask them to plan two different budgets: one budget with all the things they want, and a second budget where they consider having to save money due to an unplanned expense. 

SS.912.FL.2.6 Explain that people may choose to donate money to charitable organizations and other not-for-profits because they gain satisfaction from donating. Consider donating to a food bank for Thanksgiving. With a budget of $100.00, use the Tampa Bay Times Circulars to plan what you would buy for the food bank. 
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Happy Thanksgiving! Following Thanksgiving, many people start thinking about shopping for the holidays. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving has been considered the beginning of the holiday shopping season in the U.S. since 1952. Many retailers open early and offer deals on key merchandise. More recently, some retailers have opened during overnight hours on Thanksgiving Day, traditionally in the evening. Cyber Monday began in 2005, as a marketing term for the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday. There are many circulars available at this time of year. You can use the Tampa Bay Times Circulars to have students search for sales. They can create budgets, conduct comparison shopping, and discuss the ways in which advertising influences shopping decisions. In addition, discuss the importance of conducting research through unbiased sources like Consumer Reports or Consumer Search.com. Then, if you are considering buying apps, consider using Common Sense Media. For more information on trusting product reviews, check out the NPR interview with Consumer Reports and Consumer Search. In order to protect consumers against fraud, the government has established a Consumer Protection Bureau under the Federal Trade Commission. 

Financial Literacy Standards and Activities
SS.4.FL.2.7 Planning for spending can help people make informed choices. Develop a budget plan for spending, saving, and managing income. Use the flyers to create a budget for holiday spending.
SS.4.FL.2.6 Predict how peoples spending choices are influenced by prices as well as many other factors, including advertising, the spending choices of others, and peer pressure. How does advertising influence you in choosing things that you want? What about peer pressure? Did you ever want to buy something because your friends or someone famous used the product?

SS.8.FL.2.1 Explain why when deciding what to buy, consumers may choose to gather information from a variety of sources. Describe how the quality and usefulness of information provided by sources can vary greatly from source to source. Explain that, while many sources provide valuable information, other sources provide information that is deliberately misleading. Consider some holiday gifts you would like to purchase. Gather information from flyers and other online sources, including product reviews. Think about the bias that might occur in reviews that are on the product website. Which sources can you trust? 
SS.8.FL.2.2 Analyze a sources incentives in providing information about a good or service, and how a consumer can better assess the quality and usefulness of the information. Why would producers and sellers want to provide information about their goods? Why would buyers want to provide information about goods? It is important to use a variety of sources to research a product. 

SS.912.FL.2.3 Discuss that when buying a good, consumers may consider various aspects of the product including the products features. Explain why for goods that last for a longer period of time, the consumer should consider the products durability and maintenance costs. What are some of the features of a good that make you consider purchasing a gift? For example, if you were purchasing running shoes, what would you consider? What about electronics? How should durability and maintenance impact your decisions? 
SS.912.FL.2.4 Describe ways that consumers may be influenced by how the price of a good is expressed. Check out the Black Friday flyers. How do advertisers try to influence consumers with the ways the prices are expressed? What language do they use? How do the worlds bargain, save, sale, and deal influence buyers?
SS.912.FL.2.7 Examine governments establishing laws and institutions to provide consumers with information about goods or services being purchased and to protect consumers from fraud. Check out the Consumer Protection Bureau under the Federal Trade Commission. What laws exist to protect consumers? Check out Consumer Reports or Consumer Search.com and the NPR interview with Consumer Reports and Consumer Search. How do agencies like these provide consumers with information?
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Are you looking for an interesting topic to spur some debate during the holidays? According to a report by The Lancet Commissions on pollution and health, pollution killed 9 million people in 2015. Most of the deaths occurred in low-to-middle income countries, which have not introduced the pollution controls common in richer nations. Cities like Beijing and New Delhi, which are often cited in the news for air pollution, are not even in the top ten most polluted cities based on 2016 World Health Organization data. This report also noted that the pollution does not stay in one place. For example, at least eleven percent of black carbon pollution in the western US states originates in China. Furthermore, at least 20 percent of China's pollution results from producing goods for the USA. This is a serious problem. A recent study reported by CNN noted that 1-in-6 deaths can be linked to pollution! Now read this Tampa Bay Times opinion column about informing the public about pollution. What do you think? Do you think you have the right to know if industry is causing pollution that harms health? What if the pollution directly harms your health? So what can you do about pollution? As a consumer, you can make decisions about the goods you buy.

Conduct some online research about the companies behind products you buy. Do any of these companies have bad reputations for pollution? If so, are there any other substitute goods that you would consider? Check out the Forbes infographic on pollution. Create a poster or infographic about this issue to inform others so they can be aware and informed for the new year. This is your year to vote with your purchases.

SS.4.FL.2.5 Explain that costs are things that a decision maker gives up; benefits are things that a decision maker gains. Make an informed decision by comparing the costs and benefits of spending alternatives. The costs of buying a popular item aren't always obvious. Conduct some research on products before you buy them. What is the reputation of the company? Does the company cause harm to the environment or people? Make an evidence-based decision based on facts.

SS.8.FL.2.2 Analyze a sources incentives in providing information about a good or service, and how a consumer can better assess the quality and usefulness of the information. What are a corporation's incentives for providing information about pollution? What happens if a company knows it is spewing out harmful substances and does nothing or hides the fact? Before you buy something weigh the costs and benefits of the purchase. The costs of buying a popular item aren't always obvious. Conduct some research on products before you buy them. What is the reputation of the company? Does the company cause harm to the environment or people? Make an evidence-based decision based on facts.

SS.912.FL.2.7 Examine governments establishing laws and institutions to provide consumers with information about goods or services being purchased and to protect consumers from fraud. Read the above articles. Then read this Tampa Bay Times article on how a cruise ship company polluted and covered it up. Based on the article, what laws and government agencies protect people from the potential harm that corporate pollution can cause. Conduct some research on government agencies and laws that protect consumers. What do you think?
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 Recently LuLaRoe, the company that sells those "buttery soft" leggings, was hit by a 1 billion dollar class action lawsuit, which claims they operate a pyramid scheme. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a government agency that helps protect consumers against scams. On their website, they describe multi-level marketing, which is legal, and pyramid schemes, which are illegal. In fact, they provide the following information about signs that a company is operating a pyramid scheme: 

• Your income is based mainly on the number of people you recruit, and the money those new recruits pay to join the company — not on the sales of products to consumers
• You’re required to buy lots of inventory
• You’re forced to buy other things you don’t want or need just to stay in good standing with the company

Now read the article in the Tampa Bay Times and watch the video on ABC news about the lawsuit. What do you think so far? Could this be a pyramid scheme, based on the evidence provided in the article? Now conduct more research on the Internet, using reliable sources. For example, consider the CBS article that explains the Multi-Level Marketing plan of LuLaRoe. This article discusses some other problems encountered by both the buyers and sellers. Then conduct more research on the internet, using reliable sources. Present your findings. What do you think? Pyramid scheme or multi-level marketing business? Are there any other business schemes you have heard about?  If you notice a scam, you should report it to the FTC, as illustrated in their photonovela: Talking About Scams. 

Florida Standards Activities
SS.4.FL.6.3 Describe ways that individuals can either choose to accept risk or take steps to protect themselves by avoiding or reducing risk. As a consumer, how do you protect yourself against risk? Encourage students to conduct research before they make a decision to buy something. When you conduct your own research, how do you determine reliable sources? How can reviews on the company's website show bias? Tell students that they should check many different sources for reviews about the products. 

SS.8.FL.2.1 Explain why when deciding what to buy, consumers may choose to gather information from a variety of sources. Describe how the quality and usefulness of information provided by sources can vary greatly from source to source. Explain that, while many sources provide valuable information, other sources provide information that is deliberately misleading. When you want to buy a product and hear the company is accused of unethical practices toward consumers, workers, or the environment, what should you do? When you conduct your own research, how do you determine reliable sources? How can the company show bias? How can accusers show bias? Sort the facts from the emotional appeals on both sides of an argument.

SS.912.FL.2.7 Examine governments establishing laws and institutions to provide consumers with information about goods or services being purchased and to protect consumers from fraud. Conduct some research about past pyramid schemes and other consumer scams. How does the FTC help or protect consumers? What other agencies help protect against fraud?
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Greco Middle School recently opened a Makerspace in the media center. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the new Makerspace contains a 3D printer, iPads, a Sphero robot, a LEGO wall and other 21st Century technological tools and supplies. Makerspaces are great places to help students understand the skills and strategies they need for jobs of the future. In addition, Makerspaces can help students to realize their own creative abilities and consider a future as an entrepreneur. For more information on entrepreneurship, visit the USF Stavros Resources page on Entrepreneurs. 
For more information on Makerspaces:

1. Making and Learning from Institute of Museum and Library Services
2. What is a Makerspace?
3. Librarian's Guide to Makerspaces
4. Edutopia: Creating Makerspaces in Schools
   

SS.4.FL.1.7 Entrepreneurs are people who start new businesses. Entrepreneurs do not know if their new businesses will be successful and earn a profit. Identify ways in which starting a business is risky for entrepreneurs. What kind of product would you like to create and sell? How would you sell it? Would you open a store or would you sell it online? What are some of the risks of starting your own business? 
SS.8.FL.1.3 Explain that getting more education and learning new job skills can increase a persons human capital and productivity. What are some skills that the students could learn in the Makerspace that would help prepare them for the future? 
SS.912.FL.1.3 Evaluate ways people can make more informed education, job, or career decisions by evaluating the benefits and costs of different choices. Tell students to consider different types of technology careers that might be inspired by a Makerspace. Ask students if they ever considered inventing something and becoming an entrepreneur. Have them watch some episodes of Shark Tank and create your own classroom version.

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