Nov. 5, 2008: Financial Literacy
The Mini Page is a syndicated,
four-page tabloid written for young children found each Wednesday in the
Rocky Mountain News. This issue of The Mini Page is available through
the eEdition Archive to registered eEdition subscribers. Click here to learn about subscribing to the eEdition at no cost to you (for Colorado teachers).
Activities:
1. What coins and $1 bills
would you use to buy something you wanted? Cut out newspaper pictures
of three things you would like to have. Choose items that cost less than
$5. Paste your pictures on pieces of paper. Under each picture, draw the
coins and/or $1 bills you would need to buy that item.
2. Create a series of "needs"
and "wants" trading cards. Cut out newspaper pictures and words
for things you really need to live (food, shelter, clothing) and things
you'd like to have (games, electronic items). Paste one picture or word
on a 3-by-5-inch card. On the back, write either "need" or "want."
Have friends separate the cards into stacks of "Things I Need"
and "Things I'd Like to Have."
3. Show how you can budget
your money. Pretend your parents have given you $50 to spend for a party
with six of your friends. Use the store ads in the newspaper to find items
you would buy for the party. List each item and its price. Keep your budget
under $50.
4. We save money for short-term
and long-term goals. Find five items in the newspaper that would be short-term
goals and five that would be long-term goals. Explain why you selected
each item.
5. Conduct a survey of adult
family members and friends. Ask them to discuss how they make decisions
about when to pay cash and when to put something on a credit card. What
types of bills do they pay in full each month and what types do they pay
over time? Ask for their advice for saving and spending money. Write a
paragraph discussing what you've learned from the people you interviewed.
This week's standards:
- Money makes it easier to trade, borrow, save, invest and compare the value of goods and services. (Economics: Role of Money)
- Banks are institutions
where people save money and earn interest, and where other people borrow
money and pay interest. (Economics: Role of Institutions)
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
