Beacon Lesson Plan Library

It Has to Balance

Laura Brown

Description

Students use a price list and balance sheet to plan for a day of fun at the beach. They learn about expenses, income, outgo, and balancing of resources.

Standards

Florida Sunshine State Standards
MA.A.3.2.3.5.1
The student solves real-world problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers, and addition, subtraction, and multiplication of decimals, fractions, and mixed numbers using an appropriate method (for example, mental math, pencil and paper, calculator).

SS.D.1.2.5.5.1
The student creates a simple budget including income and expenses.

Florida Process Standards
Information Managers
01 Florida students locate, comprehend, interpret, evaluate, maintain, and apply information, concepts, and ideas found in literature, the arts, symbols, recordings, video and other graphic displays, and computer files in order to perform tasks and/or for enjoyment.

Effective Communicators
02 Florida students communicate in English and other languages using information, concepts, prose, symbols, reports, audio and video recordings, speeches, graphic displays, and computer-based programs.

Numeric Problem Solvers
03 Florida students use numeric operations and concepts to describe, analyze, communicate, synthesize numeric data, and to identify and solve problems.

Critical and Creative Thinkers
04 Florida students use creative thinking skills to generate new ideas, make the best decision, recognize and solve problems through reasoning, interpret symbolic data, and develop efficient techniques for lifelong learning.

Responsible and Ethical Workers
05 Florida students display responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, selfmanagement, integrity, and honesty.

Resource Managers
06 Florida students will appropriately allocate time, money, materials, and other resources.

Systems Managers
07 Florida students integrate their knowledge and understanding of how social, organizational, informational, and technological systems work with their abilities to analyze trends, design and improve systems, and use and maintain appropriate technology.

Materials

-Teacher-made sheets (see Attached Files) copied for students
-Calculators

Preparations

-Copy the attached file for the students
-Decide the amount of money that you, the bank, will loan each group. You may decide to give each group the same amount or allocate it according to the # of group members, etc.

Procedures

Day 1
The teacher distributes the Does It Balance? worksheet to the students. The teacher gives a definition and example of an expense, income, and balance for a simple budget. List the words and their definitions on the board. Discuss with students the importance of budgeting. Relate to the students which of these terms would indicate which math operation. Expense-subtraction; Income-addition; Total cost-multiplication of quantity purchased by the cost of each unit.

The teacher sets the following scenario for the class. -You and three of your friends are spending the day at the beach.- The teacher sets an amount of money to be borrowed for each person (income). The teacher will need to have an artificial list of supplies made up on chart paper for this practice (see A Blast at the Beach? list in Attached File). The supply list will need to have a cost for each item. The supplies need to be items that encourage students to buy multiples of the items (expenses). Give an example, such as one supply may be a can of coke for $0.30. The student would purchase one or two for each person, hence 4x $0.30. As a whole class, the students choose one item they want to purchase for the trip. Demonstrate how to multiply it times 3 or 4 (number of friends on the trip). The teacher writes it on his/her chart as an example of how to fill out the budget balance sheet.

Assessments

1. Assign students to groups to complete the activity and spend their assigned income for the trip to the beach. Allow them to use a calculator to check their totals. These sheets will be formatively assessed. If time allows, permit students to share what they purchased, pointing out that people will allocate their resources differently.
2. Students write a paragraph explaining what 'balancing' means. They should correctly use the terms discussed such as income, outgo, expenses, balance, etc. The paragraph should reflect that the student understands how a simple budget works.

Attached Files

Price list of beach items and a balancing sheet are included in this file.     File Extension: pdf

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