And You Thought Gas Is Expensive Now?

1.  With your partner, you will choose the most appropriate time period for your research. Which block outlines the time your grandparents lived?

2. You and your partner are responsible for this project and will be graded as a group (See Evaluation for rubric). All of your work will be completed together: website-searching, interviewing, forming opinions, creating and reporting the project.

3. There is a list of groceries that you will research from a list of websites. Groceries you will track: bread, hamburger, eggs, milk, and a snack of your choice. You should have at least two prices per item for each time period. You will also track the prices for gasoline/petroleum.  Here is a list of websites for the historical timeperiod:

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50sfood.html

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/70yearsofpricechange.html

http://www.bls.gov/opub/uscs/1950.pdf (table 13)

http://www.foodtimeline.org/

Here's a list of websites with current prices:

http://specials.publix.com

http://www.gasbuddy.com

http://www.wal-mart.com

4.  You should also get an idea of prices from your interviewees and by visiting local stores. You must create a graphic organizer with these prices.

5.  Read the following article and look up any words you do not know. Include a list of your glossary terms.

"A consumer price index (CPI) is a measure of the average price of consumer goods and services purchased by households. It is one of several price indices calculated by national statistical agencies. The percent change in the CPI is a measure of inflation. The CPI can be used to index (i.e., adjust for the effects of inflation) wages, salaries, pensions, or regulated or contracted prices. The CPI is, along with the population census and the National Income and Product Accounts, one of the most closely watched national economic statistics."

6. What does Consumer Price Index mean? Write the definition in your own words

7.  Research what influences prices of goods. Click here for a great resource to learn what affects prices of groceries.

8.  What do you think affects the price of groceries and gasoline? Write short essay predicting what influences the prices of groceries and gasoline.

9.  Explore the affects of inflation on prices from your historical time period to the present. Go to The Inflation Calculator to input your prices from the historical timeperiod to adjust for inflation. Put these prices in your spreadsheet in the appropriate column.

10. Lastly, include a summary report of your findings through this WebQuest. Use all of your research and the websites in this WebQuest for this 1-2 page report.