Social Studies:

Financial Literacy

PowerPoint Slides

to be used in conjunction with the

Facilitator’s Guide

Copyright © 2012, East Carolina University.

Recommended citation:Ledford, C., & Henderson, K. (2012). Social studies: Financial literacy – A PowerPoint presentation for professional development. Modules Addressing Special Education and Teacher Education (MAST). Greenville, NC: East Carolina University.

This resource includes contributions from the module developer and MAST Module Project colleagues (in alphabetical order) Kelly Henderson (Facilitator Guide Editor), Tanner Jones (Web Designer), Diane Kester (Editor), Sue Byrd Steinweg (Project Director), Bradley Baggett (Graduate Assistant), and Sandra Hopfengardner Warren (Principal Investigator).

Session Agenda

• Teaching Financial Literacy though Children’s Literacy: The Problem

• Session Goal and Objectives

• Welcome to Financial Literacy

• Financial Responsibility and Decision Making

• Planning and Money Management

Session Agenda, continued

• Credit and Debt

• Risk Management and Insurance

• Saving and Investing

• Activity 1- A Gift for Mama

• Activity 2- Financial Literacy Education Requirements

• Activity 3- Tops and Bottoms

Session Agenda, continued

• Financial Literacy Linkages to Children’s Literature

• Summary

• Evaluation

Teaching Financial Literacy though Children’s Literacy:

The Problem • Economics and financial literacy are topics

that many teachers feel uncomfortable teaching.

• Yet they are important topics for all people.

• As early as kindergarten, students can determine the difference between wants and needs.

The Problem, continued

• We live and work in an ever-increasing interdependent world, students must also come to recognize that nations depend on each other for products and resources.

• Schools must promote an understanding of academic content at higher levels by weaving 21st century interdisciplinary themes into core subjects.

The Problem, continued

• Financial literacy is included as one of the interdisciplinary themes (AACTE, 2010).

• When students are continuously offered opportunities that allow them application of classroom knowledge to real-world problems, the traditional four walls of the classroom become translucent and the relevance becomes evident.

The Problem, continued

• Using children's literature, students use various modes of learning, hands-on activities, and visuals to meet the needs of all learners.

• Financial literacy enables students to address real world problems by exploring children's books and relating the topics to their everyday lives.  

Session Goal and Objectives

• The goal of this session is to examine financial literacy and to provide connections to financial literacy in children's literature through use of the Internet to make real world connections.

• Financial literacy is one of the interdisciplinary themes of the 21st Century Skills (AACTE, 2010).

Session Objectives, continued

Objectives- Participants will:

1.Define financial literacy.

2.Identify strategies for addressing the National Financial Literacy Standards throughout instruction.

3.Identify the connection of financial literacy using children's literature.

Welcome to Financial Literacy

• Do topics like record debt, skyrocketing foreclosures, and a large number of people suffering from financial stress...sound familiar?

• Many of the problems people face today could have been avoided if they had received a practical financial education.

Welcome, continued

• The solution to many of today’s financial problems (debt; retirement & college fund shortages; financial stress) comes down to having practical money skills.

• Skills such as buying a new car, balancing a checkbook, or investing for retirement rely on good financial decisions.

• To make good financial choices, one must be financially literate.

Welcome, continued

• Children's economic ideas follow a developmental sequence as conceptual thinking moves from concrete to more abstract.

• Educators must begin with activities that are experiential in nature.

• Through children's literature, teachers can enhance financial literacy by identifying related themes in the stories that they read in the early elementary years.

Welcome, continued

• Let’s begin by exploring the National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education:– The standards were created and are

maintained by the Jump$tart Coalition® for Personal Financial Literacy.

– They are organized into six major categories.

Welcome, continued

– Standards are available at http://www.jumpstart.org/national-standards.html.

– The document defines financial literacy as the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage one's financial resources effectively for lifetime financial security.

– Standards in each of the six areas are described in the next sections of slides.

Financial Responsibility and Decision Making

Apply reliable information and systematic decision making to personal financial decisions. Standards:

1.Take responsibility for personal financial decisions.

2.Find and evaluate financial information from a variety of sources.

3.Summarize major consumer protection laws.

- cont.-

Decision Making, continued

Standard ..

4.Make financial decisions by systematically considering alternatives and consequences.

5.Develop communication strategies for discussing financial issues.

6.Control personal information.

Income and Careers

Use a career plan to develop personal income potential. Standards:

1.Explore career options.

2.Identify sources of personal income.

3.Describe factors affecting take-home pay.

Planning and Money Management

Organize personal finances and use a budget to manage cash flow. Standards:

1.Develop a plan for spending and saving.

2.Develop a system for keeping and using financial records.

3.Describe how to use different payment methods.

-cont.-

Planning and Money Management, continued

Standard …

4.Apply consumer skills to purchase decisions.

5.Consider charitable giving.

6.Develop a personal financial plan.

7.Examine the purpose and importance of a will.

Credit and Debt

Maintain creditworthiness, borrow at favorable terms, and manage debt. Standards: 

1.Identify the costs and benefits of various types of credit.

2.Explain the purpose of a credit record and identify borrowers' credit report rights.

-cont.-

Credit and Debt, continued

Standard …

3.Describe ways to avoid or correct debt problems.

4.Summarize major consumer credit laws.

Risk Management and Insurance

Use appropriate and cost-effective risk management strategies. Standards:

1.Identify common types of risks and basic risk management methods.

2.Explain the purpose and importance of property and liability insurance protection.

3.Explain the purpose and importance of health, disability, and life insurance protection.

Saving and Investing

Implement a diversified investment strategy that is compatible with personal goals. Standards:

1.Discuss how saving contributes to financial well-being.

2.Explain how investing builds wealth and helps meet financial goals.

3.Evaluate investment alternatives.

-cont.-

Saving and Investing, continued

Standard …

4.Describe how to buy and sell investments.

5.Explain how taxes affect the rate of return on investments.

6.Investigate how agencies that regulate financial markets protect investors.

– Source: http://www.jumpstart.org/national-standards.html

Saving and Investing, continued

• The National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education align with the standards created by the National Business Education Association, Council for Economic Education, National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, and the National Council for the Social Studies.

Saving and Investing, continued

• Visit the United States Mint and explore the lesson plans and activities available at http://www.usmint.gov/kids/teachers/financialliteracy/ to become acquainted with the resources there.

Activity 1- A Gift for Mama

• Access the Money Management International website at http://www.moneymanagement.org/Budgeting-Tools/Credit-Lesson-Plans.aspx

• Go to the lesson plans that utilize children's literature to teach financial literacy concepts. (You may want to bookmark this address for future use.)

Activity 1, continued

• Select the lesson plan to use with the book, A Gift for Mama at http://www.moneymanagement.org/Budgeting-Tools/Credit-Lesson-Plans/A-Gift-for-Mama.aspx

• The topics of income, savings, as well as short-term goals are addressed.

Activity 1, continued

• Examine the lesson plan, and spot the financial literacy concepts implicit in the story. A copy of Activity 1 is available at http://www.moneymanagement.org/Budgeting-Tools/Credit-Lesson-Plans/A-Gift-for-Mama/Activity-1.aspx.

Activity 2- Financial Literacy Education Requirements

• Access the website at http://www.jumpstart.org/state-financial-education-requirements.html.

• Determine the financial literacy education requirements for your state. The topics vary by state and include such topics as basic economics, taxing and spending, money management, savings and investment, insurance, and banking.

Activity 3- Tops and Bottoms

View the demonstration at http://mast.ecu.edu/modules/ss_fl/lib/media/tops_bottoms.html.

Activity 3, continued

• The video highlights the connection to financial literacy using children’s literature.

• Beth Eckstein of East Carolina University uses the book, Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens, to spot financial literacy concepts and to teach the concepts in early elementary classrooms.

Financial Literacy Linkages to Children’s Literature

• Look the table Linking Children’s Literature with Financial Literacy available on the following pages. (Also at http://mast.ecu.edu/modules/ss_fl/concept/#7 under Activities).

• It lists a variety of children's literature selections with the economic and financial literacy concepts that could be addressed. Like Tops and Bottoms, the content is implicit and can be addressed in similar ways.

Linking Children's Literature with Financial Literacy

The theme of each book notes the financial literacy concepts that are included in each text. Consider ways to extend the meaning using real world items like local store flyers, menus from restaurants, and grocery store advertisements.

Title Author Theme Summary

A Kid's Guide to Managing Money

Joy Wilt Managing Money This book teaches children how to manage money once they have earned it. (Discuss reasons to save and/or spend.)

Alexander Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday*

Judith Viorst Opportunity cost Alexander is forced to deal with the consequences of his actions. (Each time that Alexander has to make decisions, you can determine the opportunity cost.)

"Helping" and "Bang-Klang" in Where the Sidewalk Ends**

Shel Silverstein

Interdependence, workers/producers

These two poems explore different situations in which people must help/rely on others. (Label the workers/producers in each poem.)

Pigs Will Be Pigs* Amy Axelrod Money A family of pigs needs to eat, but they do not have enough money. The pigs look for money, figure out what it will buy, and go to a restaurant. (Restaurant menus)

Round and Round the Money Goes

Melvin and Gilda Berger

Money This book explains the development of money from its origins to modern usage as cash, checks, and credit cards.(Examine interest rates on credit cards and the cost of items from local store advertisements.)

The Hundred Penny Box**

Sharon Bell Mathis

Value of money Michael's relative uses her collection of pennies to teach him about life during the Depression.(Discuss ways to save money today and label items in store flyers that would require the students to save.)

The Money Tree Sarah Stewart Value of money A woman grows a money tree in her yard and must deal with the people who want to pick the money tree's leaves. (Using store advertisements, create a T Chart labeling items to spend and save, less expensive items, and more expensive.)

Tops and Bottoms Janet Stevens Entrepreneurship, venture capitalism, investment, competition

This book is a sequel to Aesop's "Hare and the Tortoise". The economic lessons in the story are based upon Hare being down on his luck and finding a way to support his family.

Understanding Money

Carol and James Barkin

Spending, saving, value of money

The author compares the purchasing power of money throughout the world and looks at how savings accounts work. (Create a list of ways students can save money.)

A Gift for Mama* Esther Hautzig Savings, income Sara has always made presents for her family, but for mother's day she decides to buy her mother a present. Sara works hard for her grandmother, eventually saving and earning enough money to buy a gift for her mother.

All the Money in the World*

Bill Brittain Inflation Quentin helps a leprechaun out of a hole, so the leprechaun grants him three wishes. Quentin's third wish is to have all the money in the world. This turns out to cause far more grief than Quentin expects. The book gives a comic insight in to how money works.

Children of the Fire Harriette Gillem Robinet

Savings, income, human capital, exchange and entrepreneurship

This is a story about a young girl, Hallelujah, who lives with a foster family during the Great Fire of Chicago. After the Fire, Hallelujah is neighborhood children start their own business selling melted glass as souvenirs from the fire. Economic aspects of the Fire and rebuilding Chicago are mentioned throughout the story.

Stone Fox* John Reynolds Gardiner

Income, capital, savings, taxes, credit

This is a story about a boy who spends all of his savings entering a dog sled race. He needs to win first prize in order to save his potato farm and his grandfather from tax creditors.

Summary• This session was designed to acquaint

teachers with

1)financial literacy standards and

2)children's literature that can be used throughout financial literacy instruction.

• Enjoy your experiences helping children of all ages and abilities prepare for their financial futures!

Focus and Reflection Questions

1. In your experiences, what has been the most difficult aspect of financial literacy that you have tried to teach? Why?

Focus and Reflection Questions – cont.

1. What activities have you found successful when addressing financial literacy in your class? Identify the grade level and composition of your classroom.

2. What are your concerns that haven’t been addressed in this session?

Application and Extension Activities

1. Return to Activities previously presented, if time did not allow for completion.

2. Allow teams of participants to select one of the Web resources to visit and created a chart with Name, URL, and ways to use in the classroom.

http://mast.ecu.edu/modules/ss_fl/summary/#4

Self-Assessment

• A self-assessment with response feedback is available at http://mast.ecu.edu/modules/ss_fl/quiz/. Participants may take this assessment online to evaluate their learning about content presented in this module.

Session Evaluation

• A form for participants to evaluate the session is available in the Facilitator’s Guide.