Students take on the role of event planners to use algebra as a decision-making tool for designing a prom plan that is meaningful, affordable, and realistic. Over four weeks, they build and revise equations, inequalities, graphs, and budget models for costs, fundraising, and ticket pricing to identify viable options under real constraints. The work culminates in a team proposal and live pitch to a school PTO or prom committee member, who gives feedback on feasibility and helps students connect classroom math to actual event planning.

Students will build and test equations, inequalities, and systems to model prom costs, fundraiser income, and ticket pricing, then graph solutions to identify plans that meet budget limits and event goals. They will solve and justify linear equations and inequalities step by step, explaining how each choice changes the viability of the proposal. Students will manage resources and constraints as a team, revise their model through weekly feedback, and defend their final spending plan in a live presentation using charts, graphs, and clear mathematical reasoning.

Teams create a shared budgeting workbook with researched price lists, item quantity calculations, equations, inequalities, graphs, and revised viable solution points collected across the 4 weeks. Along the way, they produce weekly draft budget models, checkpoint explanation notes for one equation and one inequality, and quick reflection logs on how their math choices and collaboration habits improved the plan. The final product is a digital slideshow team proposal that presents the prom theme, fundraiser goals, ticket pricing, spending constraints, charts, graphs, and a justified budget plan. For the live exhibition, teams also prepare a short pitch and simple visual budget breakdowns so a PTO or prom committee reviewer and audience can evaluate which plan is most realistic.

Open with “Lights, Camera, Ledger” by giving teams a set of real prom expense cards, fundraiser options, ticket sales scenarios, and a fixed budget challenge from a mock school prom committee. In one class period, teams sort costs into needs and wants, write a quick equation and inequality to test one spending decision, and graph whether their choice is viable under the budget and guest-count constraints. End with a fast share-out where each team presents one possible prom choice, one tradeoff they had to make, and one question they need to answer to build a full proposal. If possible, have a PTO or prom committee member introduce the challenge and react to students’ first ideas about realistic pricing and fundraising.

Host a “Lights, Camera, Ledger” showcase where teams give a 3–4 minute live pitch of their digital slideshow to classmates, families, and a school PTO or prom committee guest. Each team should present its fundraiser goals, ticket pricing, graphs of systems and inequalities, and budget constraints, with every student explaining one part of the model, one constraint, and one collaboration habit that kept the work on track. Set up a gallery walk after the pitches so audience members can review charts, budget breakdowns, and viable solution choices, then vote on the most realistic and well-justified prom plan. End with brief feedback from the community partner on which proposals best matched real school event budgeting.