01/29 (SYNCH): SPENT - A NEXTGEN Personal Finance Simulation Project

If you do not finish all assigned tasks before the end of the class, you must complete them on your own time.  If you are finished early you may work on any previous assignment you owe, khan academy, typing.com (lessons only), or work for another class.

The Inquiry below is intended to help introduce students to the decisions people have to make everyday when they are living paycheck to paycheck. The Supplemental Resources are provided only to support the Inquiry, but the Inquiry is a comprehensive lesson on its own.

In this Inquiry, students will use a simulator to roleplay an adult trying to make ends meet when they don’t have a surplus of finances. In the process, students will learn about how their decisions impact the people around them and their ability to pay for the necessities each month as well as the pressures and decisions that many people face in this situation. Through this Inquiry, they will learn to use wise spending and saving habits, empathize with those dealing with the living wage, and assess the options people have when they are having financial difficulties.

Make Sure You Click On The ROLEPLAY Inquiry Simulation Link Below, Click FILE and MAKE A COPY, and SHARE it with Mr. Scribner (harvey.scribner@techfreire.org) for credit!

COMPLETE BOTH WORKSHEETS FOR CREDIT:

1st Worksheet:  ROLEPLAY: SPENT

2nd Worksheet: Paycheck2Paycheck

COMPLETE THE POST SIMULATION SURVEY WHEN YOU ARE DONE HERE:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSezZ8Gl_Rswpsx7OM6G_iC00BVXTOCmY9u7C4qTaHE7unzBOg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Learning Objectives:

• Students will experience the circumstances of budgeting on the living wage.
• Students will reflect on the impact of the decisions they made in order to learn from them for the future.
• Students will explore the difficulties of living paycheck to paycheck and learn from the options they face as well as the mistakes they make.
• Students SHOULD Play the Game a SECOND Time after recording their answers to more fully understand some of the alternate choices in the simulation.

ACTIVITY:

Complete The Google Document Worksheet As You Complete The Online Simulation. Please Answer All Questions In COMPLETE SENTENCES! Try to use the R.A.C.E Response Method (Repeat the question, Answer the question, Cite your evidence/examples, Explain your evidence/examples) Make sure you SHARE the Google Document with Mr. Scribner (harvey.scribner@techfriere.org) for credit.

Standards:

Alignment to Anchor Standards for Reading: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words..

Alignment to Jump$tart Spending and Saving Standards: 1b: Analyze how spending and saving behavior can affect overall well-being. 1c: Discuss the components of a personal spending plan, including income, planned saving, and expenses.   Alignment to Jump$tart Risk Management and Insurance Standards: 1b: Predict the consequences of accepting risk with insufficient or no insurance. 1c: Illustrate how to use insurance to share the risk of financial loss.

Supplemental Resources:

*Note: These supplemental resources are a work in progress and will be finalized soon!

Video: Just In Case
This video from Cha-Ching is a fun way for students to explore why they should think about having an emergency fund or getting insurance in case issues they can’t plan for arise!

Suggested Follow Up Questions: 1) What are some examples of reasons you might need an emergency fund or insurance from the video? 2) Why do you think people say “plan for the worst” based on what you learned from the video?

This project taken directly from http://playspent.org/