FinancesBreana McQueen

Target Learners

Intended Audience: This lesson is for high school student with cognitive disabilities.

Subject Area: Life Skills

Finances: How to balance a check book, how to write a check and how deposit money into your bank account.

Objectives

Student will learn to successfully balance their check book and be able to keep track of their income and expenses.

Students will learn how to properly write out a check to pay their bills or make purchases.

Students will learn how to successful fill out a deposit slip and deposit their paychecks into their bank accounts.

NET StandardsFacilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.

a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness

b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources

c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes

d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments

http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS-T_Standards.sflb.ashx

Day One: Balancing

On the first day of our Financing unit, as a class we will discuss the importance of keeping track of our finances. We will then talk about how we can keep track of our income and expenses. First we will work in groups to balance a check book. I will create a small list of incomes and expenses and the students will have to properly record them in their check register. After the students have practiced this together I will have them individually go to https://www.clearcheckbook.com/ and record their expenses again, only this time electronically.

www.ClearCheckBook.com

Day One Activity

Day Two: Writing Checks

Now that we have discussed the importance of keeping track of our finances, we will discuss how we can spend our money. As a class we will discuss some of the things we would like to spend our money on. Do they want a car, a house, some new video games ?

Now that the students know what they want to buy, they need to be able to pay the sales person. So we will learn to properly fill out a check and practice our signatures that we will sign on the bottom of the check.

Writing A Check

Each student would be given a laminated copy of this image to help guide them on writing a check. I will have printed off a list of people they will need to write checks to and give them copies for blank checks for them to write on.

Depositing A Check

On our third and final day on this Financing Unit, we will discuss how they can access their money. As a class we will discuss the kind of ways they may earn money, i.e. babysitting, serving, dog walking… Now that they have earned this money, how will they get paid, and what will they do with that money? Most likely they will be paid in cash or a check, so it is important for them to know how to properly deposit the money in their bank account.

Depositing My Money

We will set up a Bank in the classroom in which my aid and myself will be bank tellers and the students have to take turns properly filling out the deposit slip and depositing their checks. It is important for them to recall information from day one and remember to log this deposit in the check register !

Each student will be given a copy of this to use for the first few times, but is encouraged to try and successfully fill out one deposit slip with out looking !

Day Three Activity Continued…

Evaluation

Universal Design

This lesson supports Universal Design because of its use of group work, hands on interaction, use of technology and even role playing. This lesson encourages students working together and interact with each other. There are clear and concise instructions and plenty of examples for students to refer to. Overall it gives every student an opportunity to find success in managing their own finances.