Grade Level(s): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Subject(s):

• Mathematics/Applied Math

I used this lesson after a series of lessons consisting of the following.

• Percentages
• Checking accounts
• Savings accounts
• Wages--including deductions
• Household expenses
• Groceries
• Budgets
• Reconciling a Bank Statement

Day 1: Give the students "A Life"

a. in advance, write out different scenarios that a student can have (i.e. Single parent with one child age 4, Married with spouse NOT working 3 children ages 4, 5, and 8).

b. Write out different jobs--McDonalds, Sales Clerk, Waitress, Teacher, Nurse, etc. Including what their salaries are and whether they get benefits, how often they get paid and so on (or make the students figure this out by looking in a handbook borrowed from the counselor).

c. Give each student a checkbook and a certain beginning balance that they each have to start with.

d. Put the slips you made out for a. and b. in different bowls and have the students draw one from each. This is their life.

Tell the students that all checks go to you. (You are the bank.) Every day, in a different bowl, you will have different things that can happen to a person in real life--Your child needs braces pay the orthodontist $100.00 each month for the next four months. Whatever--(I also let my students make some up. They enjoyed that and had a good time and used their imaginations.)--You might even let them get money--You just received you federal income tax refund Deposit $400.00 into your account--Of course you would get a deposit slip so you can keep your records up to date. I had them draw 5 things each day and they got the whole period to work on their activity. You can keep this up for however long you want. I did it for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks I gave them each a Bank Statement that had most of the checks written on it and they had to reconcile their Check Books. You can experiment with this in many ways and come up with a few new ideas. I also had the students write 2 checks "per week" for Miscellaneous items. I also had them draw as to whether or not they had a car and whether or not they made Car payments.--this through in Bus Fare, Taxis etc. 1 day was equal to 2 weeks in my activity. This was a good exercise and my students really got involved. They were really worried about whether they were going to find a babysitter, if they had enough money left over to pay all of the extra bills etc.

I also required a few things that had to be turned in.