Link(s) to the Alberta English Language Arts Curriculum Outcomes:

• 1.1 Discover and Explore
  • extend understanding of ideas and information by finding and exploring oral, print and other media texts on related topics and themes
  • express personal understandings of ideas and information based on prior knowledge, experiences with others and a variety of oral, print and other media texts
  • reflect on own observations and experiences to understand and develop oral, print and other media texts
• 2.4 Generate ideas
  • create a variety of oral, print and other media texts to explore ideas related to particular topics or themes
• 3.3 Organize, Record and Evaluate
  • produce oral, print and other media texts with well-developed and well-linked ideas and sections

Brief Overview of the Lesson:

The activity involves reading and completing an Internet brochure called “A Kids Guide to Money.” The students will complete a sample budget worksheet. They will learn about several money topics: earning, spending, saving, needs and wants.

Estimated Time Required for Implementation:

One class period

Materials Needed:

Computers

Suggested Implementation Strategy:

• Ask the students what they know about money concepts. Do they know what “opportunity cost” means?
• Tell the students that today they will learn what opportunity cost is and learn about several other money concepts.
• Tell them to open the following website and instruct them to read this brochure and complete the activities.
  https://www.clevelandfed.org/learningcenter/great-minds-think.aspx

Options for Consideration:

• The teacher may want to put the students in groups to do this activity.
• If computers are not available, a smart board could be used to make this a whole class activity.

Extended Learning Opportunities:

• Let the students learn more about money and how an economy works by watching the “Hands on Banking” program for teens at:
  http://www.handsonbanking.org/htdocs/en/t/#/en/t/ym/3.html

Articles:

• http://learningtogive.org/lessons/unit398/
  A unit containing 4 lessons called “Money Smart Teens”