Summary
Students will create a definition of financial literacy through studying scenarios and understanding financial literacy from the context of the scenarios. The scenarios will ask students to determine if the person described is acting in a financially literate way. From this context, students will create a definition and concept model of the term "financial literacy."
Essential Question(s)
What does it mean to be financially literate?
Snapshot
Engage
Students brainstorm a beginning definition of financial literacy with a partner and then join another set of partners to compare definitions.
Explore
Students read different scenarios and determine whether the character in the scenario is acting in a financially responsible way.
Explain
Students return to their financial literacy definitions and expand or refine those definitions based on the information they gain from the Explore activity.
Extend
Students can interview a family member who describes a time where they believe they acted financially responsible, or students can rewrite one of the scenarios from the Explore section to improve the outcome.
Evaluate
The scenarios and the expanded definitions from the Explore, Explain, or Extend activities can serve as either formative or summative assessments.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Scenario handout (attached; one copy per group of four)
Note Organizer handout (attached; one copy per group of four)
Frayer Model handout (attached; one copy per student)
Engage
Display slide 5. Assign partners or let students choose a partner to work with. Student pairs should be asked to define “financial literacy” or what it means to be “financially literate.”
Student pairs may struggle with creating a definition or may want to look up a definition on the internet. Allow students to struggle, though, and have them construct their own definitions without other supports. If they need to, students can think about what each word means individually and use context clues as well. Reassure student pairs that they will have a chance to revise this definition later.
Once definitions are finished, ask students to put their names on their definitions and collect their definitions without much comment. These will be passed back out later.
Explore
Display slide 6. While still with their partners, combine pairs together to make working groups of four. Give group members copies of the attached Note Organizer handout and the attached Scenario handout. On the scenario sheet, groups will read six scenarios together and determine whether each scenario has someone who is acting "financially literate" or not. They must be able to explain their reasoning for the decisions their groups make. As a group determination is made for each scenario, they each fill out a graphic organizer sheet.
Display slide 7. After groups have completed their analyses of all the scenarios, tell them they are going to go over each scenario as a class and vote whether the scenario is financially literate with their feet. Divide the classroom in half with an imaginary line. Designate one side of the classroom as the financially literate or "responsible" side and the other side of the classroom as the opposite. Then, read each scenario aloud. As the scenario is read, ask students to choose which side of the classroom they believe the behavior in the scenario falls. Have them discuss their reasoning with the like-minded students who chose that same side of the room. Why do they believe the way they do? Have each side choose one spokesperson, or randomly call on one individual, to report a summary of the group's reasoning and conversations. Go through all six scenarios in this manner.
Explain
Display slide 8. Pass the original financial literacy definitions (from the Engage activity) back to their original authors. Ask the pairs to revisit their definitions and expand or revise them. Their revised definitions should reflect their conversations and any knowledge they gained from the group work with the scenarios.
Display slide 9. Ask pairs to pick one or two short phrases that they believe best represent financial literacy. Ask one partner to go to Menti.com and enter in the code that is tied to your Mentimeter presentation. Once that student is in Menti.com, have them type in the phrases they selected with their partner. Display the Mentimeter presentation in presentation mode so students can see the word cloud populate in real time.
Display slide 10. Pass out the Frayer Model graphic organizer to all students. On this handout, the words "Financial Literacy" are already in the middle; however, if students are making their own charts, have them draw two lines across the page (one width-wise and one length-wise), dividing their page into four squares, and write "Financial Literacy" in the middle. The Frayer Model not only asks for a complete definition of the central word but also for characteristics, examples, and non-examples.
If students are making their own Frayer Model, have them write these things at the top of each of the four boxes on their page: definition, characteristics, examples, and non-examples. These have already been filled out in the chart if you are using the printable handout included with this lesson. Allow students to complete the graphic organizer with their partners, or individually if you'd prefer.
Extend
Two opportunities for extending this lesson are:
Option 1: Display slide 11. Pass out the scenario list again and ask students to choose one scenario that does NOT represent a financially responsible solution. Have students rewrite the scenario so that the character is more financially aware of their dilemma and so the revised scenario offers a more financially responsible alternative. This would be an individual assignment.
Option 2: Display slide 12. Have students individually interview an adult family member or an adult friend about a financial decision they made and how they handled it. If this option is chosen for the class, have students brainstorm a class list of interview questions prior to the actual assignment.
Evaluate
The graphic organizer from the scenarios, the Frayer Model organizer, and the Extend options can all serve as either formative or summative assessments for this lesson.
Resources
K20 Center. (2014). Frayer Model. Instructional Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/126
PBS. (2009). Lessons and activities. Your Life, Your Money. http://www.pbs.org/your-life-your-money/more/facilitatorguide_ch1_techlesson.php
Smitty, K. (2013, August 29). 9 word cloud generators that aren't Wordle [Web log post]. Edudemic. http://www.edudemic.com/9-word-cloud-generators-that-arent-wordle/
Techlearning Blog Staff. (2011, October 21). More Than Wordle... Ten Other Word Cloud Generators ... Providing Unique Features- by Michael Gorman [Web log post]. Tech Learning. http://www.techlearning.com/default.aspx?tabid=100&entryid=364