Carrie explains the meaning of the word, then she and Farah go to the freezer to take out a container of frozen cookies. Carrie continues to work with Farah while Stacey finishes setting up the counter. Carrie tells Farah to use the tongs to assemble the cookies on the pedestal. Farah looks confused and says nothing for a moment. She then goes to the shelf and brings over a silver serving tray on a stand. "This is a pedestal?" she asks hesitantly. She had remembered how the cookies and muffins were displayed, but never knew the name of the tray.

During a quiet moment, as Stacey and Farah wait for their first customer, I ask Farah if she remembers what was in the cupboards. Not once did she look at the list, but names six out of seven items that are stored in the cupboard and assembled each day on the counter, including items such as stir stix, a word she had just learned. Farah then approaches Carrie to ask her what time the coffee machines should be turned on. Carrie suggests she ask Stacey, and she does.

Content

The learning content of the coffee shop was determined by its function. In other words, students were learning the procedures to operate a small coffee shop that was open to the public. The materials for learning were the tools, equipment, instructions, and supplies that were needed to prepare baked goods and coffee, serve customers, make money transactions, and maintain supplies. The knowledge they were gaining, including literacy and numeracy, was directly related to the functioning of the coffee shop. They were reading instructions to bake, reading labels to assemble ingredients, deciphering numbers, fractions and abbreviations related to measurements, counting money to set up a float, making change for customers, placing orders, tracking inventory, etc. This knowledge was directly related to the real–life experiences and activities of operating a coffee shop or similar small business.