Classroom demonstrations that engage learners act as transversals (Picault, 2019) to achieve content acquisition. We bring together two highly engaging hands-on activities that utilize ice cream to stimulate learning. The first activity involves a product taste test with five similar flavors of ice cream. Students try to order flavors from most to least expensive and a dialog ensues about product differentiation. The second activity deploys ice cream sandwiches. Students must examine the functions of money and determine whether ice cream sandwiches could serve as a money. We provide detailed lesson plans for each activity. The lessons are designed for principles-level and 6-12 instruction.
Wayne Geerling and G. Dirk Mateer