Money Matters

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling

• Write an example on the board. For example: Becky has $100 to spend on clothes. She needs to make two complete outfits. How much money should she budget for each piece of clothing, assuming she needs a top, bottoms, shoes, socks, coat, scarf, and hat for each outfit?
• Talk the students through each item of clothing and how much Becky should spend to make sure she has enough for two complete outfits.
• Ask students if any pieces of clothing are unnecessary. Discuss the difference between needs and wants. For example: Becky may want a scarf and hat because they are nice accessories, but does she really need them? Becky will only need them if she lives in a cold environment.

Guided Practice

• Give each student a My Grocery List worksheet, a sales flyer, and a calculator.
• Tell students they have $50 to spend on groceries for the week to feed themselves and one other person. Tell them that they cannot go over $50, as it is their budget.
• Have students use their materials to create their grocery list.
• During this time, circulate the room to ask questions about needs and wants based on the items you find on the students' lists.

Independent working time

• Have students analyze their list and circle all items that are true needs and mark out the items that were wants, such as junk food.
• Have them use the circled items to prepare a menu for the week.
• On the back side of the menu paper, have students write about whether or not they made good spending choices and why or why not.