Name: Kristen Wallitsch
Date: September 2005
Age/Grade Level: EBDSC K-5
Subject: Social Studies # of Students: 8 # of IEP Students: 8
Major content: Budget, Income and Savings Unit Title: Economics
ACTIONS
Goals and Objectives-
Students will:
Connections-
Producers create goods and services; consumers make economic choices about which ones to purchase. (3.4.1) – Students will make economic choices when creating their budget. They will decide what they want to spend their money on without exceeding the budget.
Every time a choice is made, an opportunity
cost is incurred.
The
Producers create goods and services; consumers make economic choices about which ones to purchase. (3.4.1) Students will make economic choices about which items to include in their budget.
Context-
Students read two
online stories that introduce them to the elements of a budget and show that a
successful budget balances money coming in (income) with money going out
(expenses and savings). Follow-up activities point out the value of a budget.
Students learn that a budget can help us make sure we buy the things we really
need and want. A budget can also help us save for things that we can’t afford
to buy right now. In a culminating activity, students create a budget they
could use to achieve a savings goal.
Resources-
·
"Tim’s Turn to Learn" http://www.umsl.edu/%7Ewpockets/
Clubhouse/library/TimsTurnToLearn/01.htm
A story about a boy who has difficulty saving for the future. This activity is
credited to the Center
for Entrepreneur & Economic Education.
·
"Heather Learns About Earning"
http://www.umsl.edu/~wpockets/Clubhouse/library/
HeatherLearnsAboutEarning/01.htm
A story about a girl who needs money for a birthday
party. This activity is credited to the Center for
Entrepreneur & Economic Education.
·
"Alexander Who Used to be Rich Last
Sunday"
http://www.coralconnect.org/pdf/1299.pdf
A worksheet students may use after they have read Alexander
Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday.
Procedures-
ACTIVITY
1:
Have students read the story Tim’s Turn to Learn (http://www.umsl.edu/%7Ewpockets/Clubhouse/
library/TimsTurnToLearn/01.htm) and answer the questions on the worksheet. If you plan to do the extension activity that
calls for students to track their spending, you may also want the students to
print out a copy of the “My Spending Tale” at the end of the story for future
use. them in advance.
Conduct a class discussion of students' answers to the worksheet questions:
1. What is Tim’s problem? [He spends too much and can’t
to save.]
2. What is the first thing Money Mouse advises Tim to do? [Make
a list of everything he buys so he knows where his money goes.]
3. How does spending money today affect what Tim spends tomorrow? [He has less money to spend tomorrow.]
4. What did Money Mouse do to save money for the new Monster Mouse video game?
[He spent less on cheese popcorn and movies.]
5. What were Tim’s biggest expenses? [$7.50
for school lunches.]
6. What is the total amount Tim spent on movies and video games? Show your
math. [$3.00 playing video games + $3.00 renting video
games + 3.00 movie rental + $5.00 movie and popcorn at theater = $14.00.]
7. What other things did Tim have on his list? Name the items and tell how much
he spent. [$2.50 for snacks and $2.00 for
baseball cards.]
8. What three things did Money Mouse do to spend less and save more? [He took cheese sandwiches for lunch, rented only one Monster
Mouse movie each week, and made his own cheese popcorn.]
9. What did Tim do to spend less and save more? [He started
taking his lunch to school and took turns playing video games at the homes of
friends.]
10. How much do you think Tim was able to save by doing these things? Show your
math. [All answers should include the $7.50 for lunch and
$3.00 for playing video games. An additional savings item that may be
identified is the $3.00 for renting video games. The total will be either
$10.50 or 13.50.]
Examine as a class some of the spending plans that students came up with to
help Tim save $12.00 each week. To help the students see the changes, and to
emphasize there is more than one way for Tim to achieve his goal, project Tim’s
original spending, using a transparency on an overhead projector (Tim’s
Budget). Show some of the students' budgets on the transparency.
NOTE: Tim’s budget is available online at http://www.umsl.edu/~wpockets/Clubhouse/library/TimsTurnToLearn/28.htm.
Below
are further questions that can be used for review:
NOTE: If your students are not familiar with the concepts of
economic needs and wants, explain that economic needs are things we must have
to survive such as food, water and shelter. Wants are things that are nice to
have--but not necessary for survival. Movie tickets, bubble gum, and jewelry
are examples of wants.
Conclude the activity by pointing out that people can reduce their spending in
many ways. Their spending plans will be influenced by their needs, wants, and
personal preferences.
ACTIVITY 2:
Have the students read the story Heather Learns About Earning (http://www.umsl.edu/~wpockets/Clubhouse/library/
HeatherLearnsAboutEarning/01.htm) to find out how Heather increased
the money coming in (income). Then discuss the THINK ABOUT IT questions:
1. What was Heather’s problem? [She
needed more money for a party.]
2. How did she earn the money she needed? [She baked and
sold a cake.]
3. What else might Heather have done to earn the money she needed? [Potential answers include providing a service such as raking
leaves for a neighbor, or selling something that she has made for friends, or
doing extra chores at home.]
NOTE: In this story, only money that is earned is labeled
“income”. For budget purposes, an allowance is also considered income. While
some students earn their allowances, others receive an allowance as a gift.
Explain to students that an allowance is an amount they can count on and as
such, can be included as income. It is difficult to include other gifts in a
budget because the size and timing of gifts cannot be counted on. One way to
deal with sporadic gifts is to determine in advance how gift money will be
divided between saving and spending. For example, a child may decide to save
half of any gift money and spend the rest. Some parents and guardians insist
that their children follow such a plan.
ACTIVITY 3:
Have students use the sample budget to answer the questions in the sample
budget activity. If computer time is limited, you can print out this
activity and have students complete it using paper and pencil. Here are the
worksheet questions and answers:
1. How much did Ernie earn each week? [$18]
2. How much did he spend? [$13 per week]
3. How much did he save? [$5 per week]
4. How many weeks will it take Ernie to reach his $50 savings goal? Show your
work. [$50 divided by $5 equals 10 weeks]
5. Assuming you get your allowance on Saturday, on what date will you have your
$50? [Answers will depend on the date on which this
activity is completed]
6. How many weeks will it take Ernie to save $150? Show your work. [$150 divided by $5 equals 30 weeks]
7. Assuming you get your allowance on Saturday, on what date will you have your
$150? [Answers will depend on the date on which this
activity is completed]
NOTE: Students may need to be shown how to calculate the
number of weeks in question.
Point out to students that the money in (income) equals the money out (spending
and saving) in the worksheet budget. Discuss the following:
What would you have to do if the money out was greater than the money in? [Increase income, reduce spending or reduce savings]
What is the consequence for Ernie of reducing his savings? [He delays reaching his savings goal]
Conclusion:
Ask
the students to list the reasons why keeping a budget is important. Write their
responses on the board. [Potential answers include keeping
track of spending, making sure money is spent on what we want the most, helping
us to save for big future purchases, and avoiding impulse purchases.]
Student Assessment-
Assessment is based on the student activities and completion of an activity in which students create a hypothetical budget to help them achieve a savings goal.
Extension Activities:
http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.cfm?lesson=EM483&page=teacher