Part 1. Spreadsheet/Database Lesson Examples
The following are examples of how using spreadsheets can be used in financial literacy education.
The Excel Shopping Spree lesson (http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=31959 ) created by M. Jasmund is an example of how a spreadsheet can be used to teach the fundamentals of wise spending and smart shopping skills. Since students are given a fixed amount of money to spend it is also a lesson in budgeting. This type of shopping spree activity could also be used to cover the subject of impulse purchases. This example is designed for grade level 3-5 but the concept is easily modified to support learners of all levels. Previous knowledge of Excel would be required for this type of lesson. That means that increased student knowledge of working with the Excel program would be an additional benefit to the financial literacy knowledge gained.
A Lemonade Business lesson (http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/1542.html ) created by Jill Nesheim is an example of using a spreadsheet as part of a long-term project that has a financial data tracking component. This spreadsheet lesson concept would be a good fit in a unit on business finances. A teacher could assign their students a long term project as part of the financial literacy curriculum on the basics of business accounting. Students can track the income and expenses from running a virtual business to figure out monthly profit/loss.
Understanding Money and Exchange Rates (http://www.microsoft.com/education/en-us/teachers/plans/Pages/currency_and_exchange_rates.aspx) is a lesson from Microsoft that teaches students the concept of currency. Microsoft has students sue Excel to create a timeline of currency. For financial literacy education the spreadsheet concept could be used to actually teach currency exchange rates. Student could use outside research of exchange rates in conjunction with Excel formula capabilities to actually calculate the currency values themselves. Students can see first-hand just how far their money would get them outside of the United States.
The Credit Cards and Compound Interests – Exponential Growth lesson (http://twt.borderlink.org/28324/2746/2746.html ) created by David Rosas teaches students to calculate credit card payments using a spreadsheet. This could be easily integrated into a unit on credit cards and/or debt management. A financial literacy educator could use this lesson to teach students how credit card companies calculate interest and how not paying off a card right away accumulates debt. Students could be tasked with finding real world credit card offers online and compiling the interest rates/fees in a spreadsheet. They would then be tasked with calculating the interest accrued on a sample balance over several months for the different cards. Students get to better understand the interworking’s of the credit card industry and how to be smart credit card users.
Part 2. Spreadsheet Supported College Budget Lesson Concept
Description:
In this lesson students will create a personal budget for their first year of college. Students will compile their estimated income/support for each month of the year. They will also compile their estimated expenses for each month of the year. The students will then calculate their monthly financial loss or gain.
Goals:
Students gain the skill of building a monthly budget. They will also gain knowledge of the true cost for attending their first year of college. A monthly budget will help students understand where their income/support would be going each month. It will let them know whether they can expect to have remaining funds at the end of each month or are possibly short on funds needed to attend college.
Data:
Students will gather sources of income including their wages, scholarships, grants, loans, family support, and savings or other funding sources. Next they will research the cost of attendance for their college of choice. In addition they will research other fixed, variable, and periodic living expenses they can expect to incur during their first year of college. They will input this data into the spreadsheet template and apply sum formulas to determine their monthly loss/gain.
The following are examples of how using spreadsheets can be used in financial literacy education.
The Excel Shopping Spree lesson (http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=31959 ) created by M. Jasmund is an example of how a spreadsheet can be used to teach the fundamentals of wise spending and smart shopping skills. Since students are given a fixed amount of money to spend it is also a lesson in budgeting. This type of shopping spree activity could also be used to cover the subject of impulse purchases. This example is designed for grade level 3-5 but the concept is easily modified to support learners of all levels. Previous knowledge of Excel would be required for this type of lesson. That means that increased student knowledge of working with the Excel program would be an additional benefit to the financial literacy knowledge gained.
A Lemonade Business lesson (http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/1542.html ) created by Jill Nesheim is an example of using a spreadsheet as part of a long-term project that has a financial data tracking component. This spreadsheet lesson concept would be a good fit in a unit on business finances. A teacher could assign their students a long term project as part of the financial literacy curriculum on the basics of business accounting. Students can track the income and expenses from running a virtual business to figure out monthly profit/loss.
Understanding Money and Exchange Rates (http://www.microsoft.com/education/en-us/teachers/plans/Pages/currency_and_exchange_rates.aspx) is a lesson from Microsoft that teaches students the concept of currency. Microsoft has students sue Excel to create a timeline of currency. For financial literacy education the spreadsheet concept could be used to actually teach currency exchange rates. Student could use outside research of exchange rates in conjunction with Excel formula capabilities to actually calculate the currency values themselves. Students can see first-hand just how far their money would get them outside of the United States.
The Credit Cards and Compound Interests – Exponential Growth lesson (http://twt.borderlink.org/28324/2746/2746.html ) created by David Rosas teaches students to calculate credit card payments using a spreadsheet. This could be easily integrated into a unit on credit cards and/or debt management. A financial literacy educator could use this lesson to teach students how credit card companies calculate interest and how not paying off a card right away accumulates debt. Students could be tasked with finding real world credit card offers online and compiling the interest rates/fees in a spreadsheet. They would then be tasked with calculating the interest accrued on a sample balance over several months for the different cards. Students get to better understand the interworking’s of the credit card industry and how to be smart credit card users.
Part 2. Spreadsheet Supported College Budget Lesson Concept
Description:
In this lesson students will create a personal budget for their first year of college. Students will compile their estimated income/support for each month of the year. They will also compile their estimated expenses for each month of the year. The students will then calculate their monthly financial loss or gain.
Goals:
Students gain the skill of building a monthly budget. They will also gain knowledge of the true cost for attending their first year of college. A monthly budget will help students understand where their income/support would be going each month. It will let them know whether they can expect to have remaining funds at the end of each month or are possibly short on funds needed to attend college.
Data:
Students will gather sources of income including their wages, scholarships, grants, loans, family support, and savings or other funding sources. Next they will research the cost of attendance for their college of choice. In addition they will research other fixed, variable, and periodic living expenses they can expect to incur during their first year of college. They will input this data into the spreadsheet template and apply sum formulas to determine their monthly loss/gain.