
Grades 9-12
MCEE Presents: Culturally Responsive Personal Finance
Presenter: Minnesota Council on Education
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In this personal finance lesson, students determine their monthly earned income and estimate how much they could be saving.
Students take an interest inventory test that gives them a list of careers from which to choose. Once they select a career they are given the annual median wage for that career. Students are taught how to make a table, label a graph’s axes, title a graph, plot the first two points, and connect the points. Given their careers’ yearly salaries, students determine their monthly earned income and estimate how much they could be saving. Through a group discussion, students learn about taxes and monthly expenses. They also learn about unexpected expenses and what they might do to prepare themselves for such events. After establishing their monthly budget, the students play a game called, “Wheel of Mystfortune.” Each spin of the wheel gives either an unexpected expense or a little extra money for the month. After each spin, the students have to figure out what their monthly savings are and write them in the table as well as graph the points. The students spin the wheel twenty-four times (two times each month), write their adjusted saving in the table and graph each point. When the students are done they come up with a line of best fit.Finally, the students use this knowledge and a graph to help determine their average monthly saving.
90 minutes.
Multiple Choice:
Month |
Saving |
3 |
$2,827 |
7 |
$4,227 |
9 |
$2,127 |
10 |
$5,277 |
12 |
$5,977 |
a. $700
[b. $350]
c. $1,400
d. $200
Constructed Response
Most students have an idea of what earned income is, but they generally do not have a good idea of what expenses they will have or what taxes they must pay. It is a surprise to many young people when they examine their first paycheck to see the pay that they receive is less than the pay they earned. Students usually do not think about the importance of saving for a goal or for unexpected expenses, large or small, and the impact these expenses have on their ability to save. This lesson makes students aware of how earned income is spent and saved and the impact of various life events on their savings. In today’s economy it is important for students to understand the importance of managing their money and determining how much they can save on a monthly basis in order to prepare them for a financially sound future.
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Presenter: Minnesota Council on Education
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