Story 1

A brother and sister go shopping for a flat-screen TV.

TV Time

Hannah ran down the steps. She was smiling a very big smile. Her dark hair moved with each step. She said to her mom, “Todd and I have our share of the money for the TV. We have each saved $200.”

Her mom smiled and said, “So, you want $200 from me, don’t you?” Mrs. Bome was happy that her children had worked hard to make the money.

Hannah said, “Yes, I do. That was the deal we made. You said you would pay $200 if we saved $400.”

Mrs. Bome looked at the steps, but did not see Todd. “Where is your brother?” Mrs. Bome asked. “Is he ready to shop, too?”

Hannah looked at her mom and said, “He’s on his cell phone.” She rolled her eyes and said, “He’s talking to Tess again. But, he’ll be down soon.”

Just then, Todd came down the steps. He had a lot of money in his hand. He said, “OK. Let’s go! I’m ready.”

Mrs. Bome said, “Wait! You can’t carry your money in your hand. And, you should make a chart.”

“A chart? Why?” Todd asked as he put his money in his front pocket.

“A chart will help you shop,” his mom said.

“We don’t need a chart to shop,” Todd said. “We can walk into a store and buy.”

“You are buying a big thing. You should look in more than one store. A chart will help to keep track of what the stores have,” Mrs. Bome said. “How are you going to like it if you pay $550 for a TV and then see the same TV for $475?”

“I wouldn’t like that at all. What would the chart look like?” Todd asked.

“Like this,” his mom said as she got out a piece of paper. She drew lines to make six columns and six rows. Then she said, “Label the first column ‘Stores.’ Label the other columns with things about the TV that matter to you. You might use size, price, picture sharpness, and number of hook-ups on back. Under Stores, write a store at the start of each row. Fill in the boxes when you are in the stores.”

Mrs. Bome gave the chart to Todd. She also gave him four $50 bills. “Here is your money,” she said.

“Thanks,” Hannah said, “We’ll be back in an hour with a TV.”

“An hour?” Her mother asked. “I don’t think you can go to four or five stores in an hour.”

“Good point!” Hannah said, “I guess we need time to drive and to talk to the salesperson in each store. I have a few other things I have to get, also. We’ll just be back later, Mom!”

Todd and Hannah left. Todd held the chart, and Hannah drove. Todd said, “Mom put ‘size, price, picture sharpness, number of hook-ups on back’ on the chart. Can you think of anything else we want to check?”

Hannah answered, “I want the speaker at the bottom. Our TV center is only 48 inches wide. We should not waste width on a speaker.” Todd wrote “Speaker at bottom?” at the top of the 5th column.

In the first store, the salesperson said, “We have some TVs that would work for you, including a 25-inch TV for $420, a 30-inch TV for $500, and a 35-inch TV for $580, but you should always buy the biggest TV you can so that you have the best possible picture and so that you are happy with your TV.” Hannah and Todd stopped the salesperson and asked him some questions. They filled out the first row on their chart. They did the same thing in the other five stores with the other four rows.

After they left the fifth store, Hannah and Todd sat in their car and looked at the chart. They decided to go back to store #3 and buy the 47-inch TV. Hannah said, “Before we go, I’d like to stop in Low Joe’s.”

“What do you have to get there?” Todd asked.

“I have to get three things: a pen, paper clips, and …
and … I forgot the other thing,” Hannah said.

“Do you have a list?” Todd asked.

“What do you think?” Hannah asked with an angry look. Hannah bought her pen and paper clips, and then they went back to the third TV store.

When Hannah and Todd got home, they had flyers from all five stores. They also had a sales slip for the TV they bought. They handed all the papers to their mother. She said, “We
only need to keep the important papers. You can throw the rest away.”

“Oh, I know what I needed,” Hannah said. “Darn it!”

“You mean what you need to throw away?” Todd asked.

“No,” Hannah said, “ I know what I needed from Low Joe’s. I needed red and black markers. Now I’m going to have to go back over there.”

“Go ahead,” Todd smiled. “I’ll be here watching my new TV!”

What do you think?

1. Mrs. Bome told Todd not to carry his money in his hand. She also told him to use a chart to shop. Todd could have said, “I’ll carry my money how I want to,” and “I don’t need to use a stupid chart.” What, if anything, do you think would have been different in the story if Todd had said those things?

2. Do you think Hannah and Todd chose the correct TV? Why or why not?

What would you do?

1. Say you bought a new TV and had papers to file. What would you write on the file? Where would you keep the file?