Teacher Page

Are You Ready for "The Real World?" - Teacher Page

Project Description

Students who graduate from high school and college often have difficulty managing their income and living within their means. Poor understanding of finance and interest rates can lead to overwhelming debts that can take a lifetime to repay. Life in the “Real World” can be a rude awakening for many students.

In this project, Seventh and Eighth grade student teams will participate in a “Reality TV” simulation exercise. Students will identify and apply basic mathematics skills to develop a plan for “surviving” financially over the course of a month of living independently from their parents. Students will research the costs of food, lodging, clothing, transportation, utilities, and other expenses. Students will develop a budget that matches an income they can expect to earn at their current level of education. Students will write checks and maintain a ledger of expenses, deposits, etc. Students will practice decision-making, problem solving, and team skills as they work to deal with typical financial situations they would encounter in daily life. Students will evaluate the “ economic quality” of their lives and consider what might be required for a life of greater financial security.

Project Goals

Essential Question:

What skills do I need to enjoy an independent and successful life?

Specific Questions:

What are typical monthly expenses?
How do I calculate my income?
What is percentage and how does it affect me?
How do I create a budget and live within my means?
How do I maintain a ledger of income and expenses?
How does education level impact my earning power?
How can I plan to keep myself healthy on this income?

Illinois and CPS Learning Standards

	7^th Grade		8^th Grade
State Goal	CAS	CFS	CAS	CFS
3	C	5	C	3
6	A	2	A	2
	B	2	B	1
	C	1 3	C	1 3

Unit Prerequisites

Students should be able to operate a calculator.
Students should be able to navigate web sites and do an effective web search.
Students should be able to read, write, round, and perform operations with decimals/money.
Students should be able to read to find information.
Students should be able to use a word processing program.

Performance Tasks

Access:

Gather data on housing, food, transportation, and utility expenses from Internet and traditional resources.
Reflect on essential needs vs. wants.

Interpret:

Analyze expenses data collected to determine categories of information to include in monthly budget plan.
Determine average monthly expenses needed based on data.

Produce:

Design a monthly budget using traditional and electronic resources.
Plan meals and expenditures based on monthly budget and nutritional requirements.
Write a job application, résumé, and cover letter.
Design a PowerPoint portfolio presentation to demonstrate their group’s success at remaining financially solvent and physically healthy over the course of the month.

Communicate:

Persuade “employer” to give them a better job/more income through application, résumé, and cover letter.
Present the group’s portfolio to peers to persuade others of their team’s success at meeting the goals of the task.

Evaluate:

Critique group portfolios using a rubric.
Evaluate their readiness to meet the challenges of daily life.
Plan for future educational and personal growth.

Performance Assessment Plan

Standards	Assessments
State Goal 3, CAS C, CFS 5 (7^th) and 3 (8^th). (Produce writing related to career development.)	Rubrics to assess: Job application Business letter/cover letter Résumé
State Goal 6, CAS A, CFS 2 (7^th and 8^th). (Understand and interpret percentages.)	Rubrics to assess: Circle graphs of monthly budgeted expenditures/actual expenditures Ledger/balance sheet
State Goal 6, CAS B, CFS 2 (7^th) and 1 (8^th). (Use and apply computation skills with all four operations, using whole numbers, rational numbers, integers, and exponents.)	Rubrics to assess: Ledger/balance sheet Check writing skills
State Goal 6, CAS C, CFS 1 and 3 (7^th and 8^th). (Solve consumer application problems and provide oral and written explanations for solutions.)	Rubrics to assess: Written explanations of problem solving processes Contents of group’s digital portfolio