Group 14

Creating a Budget
Overview of Lesson The lesson will begin with an overview of a budget- how it is made and used in real life. Then, students will play the game Spent in order to see how difficult maintaining a budget is. The game will also expose students to average costs for things like housing, food, transportation, and insurance. After the game, students will begin to work on their own budgets. We will provide students with average costs for different areas of the budget. At the end of the period, students will peer review each others budgets. The next class period will be devoted to each student presenting his or her budget, explaining his or her rationale behind each decision. Learners Most students are in 10-12th grade Approximately 30 students per class Variety of different learner levels Environment Class has rectangular tables where up to four students may sit. 45 miles outside a large metropolitan area, in a somewhat rural area Technology All students have laptops, not all can access internet from home. Access to projector, wireless Internet, and interactive whiteboard at school. By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to create a viable budget, as well as communicate their rationale in a clear and effective manner. By occasio nally working in pairs/groups, the goal is to allow students to talk through any issues so that they may hear opinions from other students. Given specific financial conditions and parameters, students will be able to create a budget so that the net outcome is zero. Given their created budget, students will be able to clearly explain their rationale in developing their budget.

Description of Learners, Environment

Learning Goals

Objectives

Group 14 Standards PFR-1.1.1 Explain how individuals demonstrate responsibility for financial well-being over a lifetime. PFR-3.1.1 Create a basic budget with categories for income, taxes, planned savings, and fixed and variable expenses. PFR-3.1.2 Analyze and adjust budget categories to manage spending and achieve financial goals.

Required Materials

Laptops Internet Computer with Powerpoint Projector Budget template for each student Scenarios for each student https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN709oX9Bzk

Group 14 Procedures 1. Present the concept of budgeting to students using a youtube video (link in required materials). Define budget, give examples of finished budgets, and present students with real life scenarios involving a budget. 2. Provide each student with the link to the game Spent. Have each student pull it up on his or her laptop and play one round of the game. 3. Have students break into groups of 3 and briefly discuss the similarity of the game to real life scenarios. This discussion will take around 5 minutes. 4. Provide each student with a budget template and average costs for housing, food, insurance, medicine, clothing, education, etc. Have each student develop their own budget. 5. Break students into pairs. Each pair will peer review each others budgets. 6. Give students each their own scenario, as described on the card they are given. This scenario will likely be different than the one they are currently in. 7. Similar to earlier, have the students develop a budget, but with their given scenario in mind. They will need to focus on needs and priorities specific to their situation. 8. 9. The next class period, have students present their budget to the class, explaining why they made each decision regarding the different sectors of the budget. Assessment The budget will be graded on the following criteria: completion - all parts were filled in net outcome of budget - students created a budget that resulted in a net outcome of zero all parts were considered and given priority with the given conditions students does not use budget more money than what their given income is. The presentation will be graded on the following criteria: clear and effective speaking skills participation: it was obvious the student put effort into creating and developing rational arguments for their decisions in their budget.

Group 14 References Beach , E. F. (1938). Teaching economics. The American Economic Review, 28(3), 515. JSTOR. Van Arsdell, P. M. (1938). Note on "economic significance of the undistributed profit tax". The American Economic Review, 28(4), 737-740. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1806312. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN709oX9Bzk

b. Our inspiration from this project came from our previous experiences in high school, along with our own creativity. In high school, we all took an Economics course but never really focused on personal finance. We realize there was much to learn if we would have done this, and we regret not being able to learn about personal finance. We concluded that it is one of the most important topics you can learn in school, though it is highly neglected in todays education system. For this reason, we wanted to design a lesson that highlighted the personal aspect of economics. By incorporating a game, we realize that the students are more likely to be engaged and actively learning than if we went to a more traditional lecture format. Specifically, in high school some of us had played a game where we were given a specific scenario (i.e. marital status, income, mortgage rate, children, etc.) and we were told to create an effective budget according to this information. A successful budget is usually indicated on the amount of money left over. Ideally there should be no money unaccounted for, as this is the sign of poor planning. By emphasizing the importance of planning and understanding the consequences of certain decisions, the student should be able to grasp the importance of our lesson. The most important part of this lesson is to make sure the students understand specifically how to make a budget that is realistic to their situation. They must be able to put themselves into the shoes of another person, as they may find some similarities with them. The game Spent, served as an appropriate introduction to this topic. The game shows the

Group 14 importance of displaying the consequences of any decision we make. This fits with our objectives rather well, in that a successful budget would be able to possibly plan for this. While it may be difficult to predict certain events that come up like in the game, a thoroughly thought-out budget would certainly allow the person to plan accordingly. Ultimately our goal is for the students to grasp the idea of creating a successful budget and how certain decisions impact that budget. In the article 1938 article, Teaching Economics, by E.F. Beach, he states that providing multiple economic theories to students. By doing so, the student has access to multiple schools of thought each with their own benefits. Conversely, in another 1938 article in The American Economic Review, the author argues that a deeper understanding of one school of thought is more beneficial (Van Arsdell, 1938). While both arguments are completely valid, we sway more towards Van Arsdells case as it allows us to develop a more specific lesson without exposing the students to many possibly confusing theories. c.) Beach , E. F. (1938). Teaching economics. The American Economic Review, 28(3), 515. JSTOR. This short essay, although published over seventy years ago, is an exceptionally thoughtful survey of existing instructional methodology regarding economics in the classroom. The author, E.F. Beach, points out that the belief that students should only be introduced to one economical theory will be put at a disadvantage because they will attempt to fit every problem that needs to be solved into the one theory that they have been taught. He goes on to suggest that two theories, at least, be introduced to students who wish to further their education in the field so that they have the ability to discern which theory of economic thought is the best application to use when working through such problem-solving scenarios. This essay aided us in our preparation of this lesson plan because we were able to consider the possibility of providing multiple economic theories to our students to bear in mind as they worked through the budgeting activity that we designed for them. With these multiple theories in mind, our students would be able adequately equipped to work through any issues with which they may be confronted during the lessons activities. Van Arsdell, P. M. (1938). Note on "economic significance of the undistributed profit tax". The American Economic Review, 28(4), 737-740. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1806312. Van Arsdell, in response to the article cited above, contests Beachs assertion that the introduction of multiple economic theories in elementary economic courses is the only acceptable manner of economic instruction, or the one that bears the most sound instructional value. Rather, Van Arsdell stresses the importance of students mastering at least one major school of thought in economic theory as opposed students gaining merely a foundational understanding of multiple theoretical approaches. For the purpose of the lesson my group and I developed, I admittedly see the veracity and validity in each stance that the two others assume. The benefits that reviewing this survey provided us with was simply gaining an alternative

Group 14 perception on the relation between instructional theories regarding economic instruction. Since our lesson focuses on exceptionally elementary economic values -- budgeting -- I feel that Van Arsdells approach may be best suited for us. My rationale for this claim is that our students will be asked to gain an understanding of economics purely on life-situation basis, so as to focalize decision making on an economic or monetary basis.