It's Not What You Think: Chapter 7 or 13?

Tell students that Lance has some choices in his scenario, although they may be limited, to solve his financial problems. Let students know that some people can have such severe debt problems, however, that their ability to repay their debt becomes virtually impossible. Tell students that today they will explore ways to get debt relief when debt becomes too overwhelming and impossible to repay. Display slide 5 and talk about how, typically, these are the few choices people have when they cannot repay their debt. Tell students that they will see three short videos that explain these choices in more detail.

Ask students to use the Cornell Notes System as they watch a series of short videos. To do this, they should prepare notebook paper prior to viewing the videos. The previous link provides detailed information about how to prepare notebook paper for this activity. You can also print and distribute the attached Cornell Two-Column Notes Questions graphic organizer to help students take notes. Ask students to take notes about the four types of debt relief and solutions as they watch each video.

Display slide 6. Students should copy the questions in the left column of their two-column notes, leaving spaces between them as displayed. Show the first video from ABC news.com, "Real Strategies to Climb Out of Debt" (2:36 in length). You can also find the full link in the Resources section below.

After the video, allow students to complete questions 1-4 and summarize this video in their Cornell notes. If it suits your classroom needs, you can also choose to check students' understanding by asking questions and soliciting responses through a brief class discussion.

Display slide 7. Show the second video, "Bankruptcy Basics Part 1: Introduction" (2:50 in length), from the United States Federal Courts. You can also find the full link in the Resources section below.

After the video, allow time for students to work on their notes and begin their summary. Note that students will not have all the information needed to answer questions 5-8 until they see the next video.

Show the third video, "Bankruptcy Basics Part 2: Types of Bankruptcy," from the U.S. Federal Courts. You can also find the full link in the Resources section below. Show only the first 3:48 minutes of this video, which explains Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Stop the video when it begins to talk about Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

After the video, allow time for students to finish all their notes and summaries of the videos. If it suits your classroom needs, you can also choose to check students' understanding by asking questions and soliciting responses through a brief class discussion over questions 5-8 or any other questions not previously addressed.