Money Matters

Content Objectives

Students will:

• Learn about the concept of money.
• Access prior knowledge and build background about types of money and what it is used for.
• Explore and apply the concepts of cost and economy.

Language Objectives

Students will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of money.
• Orally use words that name types of currency.
• Extend oral vocabulary by speaking about the structure of the economy.
• Use key concept words [goods, services, spend, currency, cash, coins, bills, penny, nickel, dime, quarter, dollar, bank, account, savings, checks, credit cards, transfer, economy, unemployment, poverty, capitalism].

Other

Explain

• Use the slideshow to review the key concept words.
• Explain that students are going to learn about money:
• What is money used for?
• How much do things cost and why?
• What is the difference between using cash and using a credit card?
• How can you tell if an economy is healthy?

Model

• After the host introduces the slideshow, point to the photo on screen. Ask students: What are the different types of money we use? (pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, dollar bills, etc. )
• Ask students: What are some other ways people can use money besides using cash? (credit cards or checks)
• Say: Money is what we get from working. Money enables us to buy things. If you don't have money, you can't buy things such as food and clothing. What are some problems caused by a poor economy? (homelessness, unemployment, poverty, etc.)

Guided Practice

• Guide students through the next five slides showing them different forms of currency and ask them to identify each one. Always have the students suggest items they would be able to buy with each piece of currency.

Apply

• Play the games that follow. Have them discuss with their partner the different topics that appear during the Talk About It feature.
• After the first game, ask students to discuss experiences they have had using money. What did they buy? How did they buy it? How much did the item cost? After the second game, ask them to discuss why buying on credit is risky.

Close

• Ask students: What would you buy if you had a lot of money?
• Summarize for students that money is important in order to survive but money can't buy everything. For instance, money can't buy friends. Encourage them to work with a group and use toy money to start an imaginary store. Have them set prices for the items that they're selling. Remind them to find a balance between their prices and costs.