This is a fun hands on way to have your students to learn and experience the financial literacy TEKS first hand!!
Each student will get their own game of life file folder. They will then draw a number for their job, family, and bills. Each day students will get paid and then pay all their bills. If a child goes into the red they must draw a credit card that has an interest rate and get a second job. The extra job is answer task cards that are worth money. Also, each day you will do an activity with the class for every financial literacy TEK.
Check out the preview for more images and details about each game.
Teaching directions:
Monday: I will give each student their file folder. They will put their names. I walk around and let students draw a number (they can not see them) out of a Ziploc back. I will then project he jobs sheet on the overhead. The students will then see what job they got and they will record it in their life game folder. Next, I do the same thing with the family and bills numbers. (this one is always super funny how the kids react.) Students will record their families and all of their bills in the correct slot. Now each student will get paid their salary and then have to subtract all their bills. Once everyone is done we will move on to the activity for each day. First I start with the blue cards slides 10 – 15. Each student gets a card, the students have to tell me if that is a planned or unplanned spending. Then the students will deposit or withdrawal the money according to the card. Next I move into the yellow cards slides 15 – 31. I pick one from each job and read it out loud to the students. I first make each student who is that job stand up as I'm reading the card. The students who have this job will have to do what the card says. We talk as a class about each cards human capital. I then repeat this for every job. Next we do the availability or scarcity cards slides 5-8 (pink, green, and grey polka dot). We will do one or two a day as a class. I will read the card and the class decides if its an example of availability or scarcity. Now I will pass out the cards on slides 17 – 20. I will make sure each student has a credit card, debit card, check and a cash picture. We will do two of the green cards as a class from slides 21-23. Finally, we will do one or two of the pink cards slides 33-35 together as a class also. These are good for having them discuss at their tables. This is the last activity that we do together for the day with this game.
Tuesday-Friday: I tell the kids that each day is a new month. So now each student will get paid their salary and then have to subtract all their bills. Once everyone is done we will move on to the activity for each day. First I start with the blue cards slides 10 – 15. Each student gets a card, the students have to tell me if that is a planned or unplanned spending. Then the students will deposit or withdrawal the money according to the card. Next I move into the yellow cards slides 15 – 31. I pick one from each job and read it out loud to the students. I first make each student who is that job stand up as I'm reading the card. The students who have this job will have to do what the card says. We talk as a class about each cards human capital. I then repeat this for every job. Next we do the availability or scarcity cards slides 5-8 (pink, green, and grey polka dot). We will do one or two a day as a class. I will read the card and the class decides if its an example of availability or scarcity. Now I will pass out the cards on slides 17 – 20. I will make sure each student has a credit card, debit card, check and a cash picture. We will do two of the green cards as a class from slides 21-23. Finally, we will do one or two of the pink cards slides 33-35 together as a class also. These are good for having them discuss at their tables. This is the last activity that we do together for the day with this game.
You might find that some kids go into the red (they do not have enough money to pay their bills. They must come pick a credit card (slide 43) they will then get a paper, staple it to their folder, and fill it out (slide 44). They will then get an extra job, all this is is answering task cards. I usually have them doing this while other kids are in stations or doing some other kind of work. You could also let the other kids see. Each credit card has a interest rate. So the students will have to answer enough task cards to pay their interest rate and pay off their bills. It really shows the students how credit cards work first hand.
Assembly Directions:Step 1: Get each student a vanilla folder for this game. Print slides 3 &47 on regular paper for each of your students. Then staple slide 47 on the left flap and slide 3 on the right flap. Each student needs one of these.
Step 2: Print slide 48 on a piece of colored paper and slide 49 on a different color of paper. Then cut out each rectangle and put in a labeled zip lock bag.
Step 3: On white card stock print and laminate slides 45 & 46. You will use these to project later.
Step 4: Print and laminate slides 17 – 20 so that each student has a cash, credit card, check, and debit card picture to hold up when we do this activity.
Step 5: Print one copy and laminate slides 5-7, slides 10-15, slides 21-23, slides 25-31, slides 33-35, and slides 37-43. Keep these groups of slides together in a zip lock bag. With slides 25-31 it is important to keep each slides pieces together but separate from the other slides in this group.
Step 6: Print and laminate to copies of slide 43.
Step 7: Print on regular paper about 10 copies of slide 44.
Step 8: The more organized your keep your materials the easier this will all go.
