The planning of our Financial Literacy Unit is going well. There are several ideas that we are working with to cover essential topics for this unit. I feel that there is so much that can be covered in the area of finances that we will have to narrow our focus to a specific theme and discard others to fit the parameters of this assignment.
The unit will start by introducing the topic of financial success and how people determine if they are financially successful. To do this, we will use a video that is from United Learning titled, What is Financial Success? Before the students watch the video, a pre-test will be given to determine the student's prior knowledge of financial success. Along with the video, there are student activities that will be completed as a class, as well as individually. When done, a posttest will be given.
After the initial introduction lesson, we will move on to topics of career choices, income, savings accounts, checking accounts and more. The library media specialist will play a vital role in these areas. For the activities of searching for a career, the media specialist can assist in showing how to use the Occupational Outlook Handbook and the accompanying web site (http://www.bls.gov/OCO/). Once the students have found a career of interest, the media specialist can direct them to other sources, both print and on-line, so the students can gather additional information. The students will need help in evaluating the web sites they have selected. The media specialist can use tools such as checklist or rubrics that we have covered in this class as a tool to help the students evaluate the web sites.
The demographics for our school are largely homogeneous and not very diverse. There is a sizable subgroup of economically disadvantaged students that we can focus some additional attention to meet their needs. These students can get some further guidance on career choices that will allow them to earn a living that will meet their expectations. Many times, students from this group are unaware of the schooling or training needed to get a job that pays well and allows them to live comfortably. During this lesson, these students can gain valuable insight to their educational options.
We are currently working on the summative project. For this, we would like to incorporated technology other than just the Internet by using Word and PowerPoint for a presentation. A rubric will be created to assess the student's presentation as well as their ability to meet guidelines for using PowerPoint.
I feel that we are working well together as a team and communicating effectively via e-mail. Even though we have completed or started on several areas of this assignment, I realize that there is still a lot of work to do.
Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteOne of the challenges to addressing issues of cultural diversity in today's schooling environment, particularly in Michigan, is that schools are highly segregated along racial/ethnic lines. Therefore, it is easy to circumvent addressing issues of cultural and linguistic diversity in all white or all black schools. However, if diversity is only seen as involving non-white people, we run the risk of deepening the divisions that currently exits among the races by linking everything non-white, non-English speaking, etc with that which needs to be accommodated. Is it not important for white students to understand how various European groups have achieved financial success, sometimes at the expense of other European and non-white groups? A liberatory or critical education helps students understand how they are positioned in the world and how they can work toward achieving social justice.
The assessment tools you've devised are sound. Also, as I mentioned to your partner, you might seek out some non-traditional career guides in the school library that may be found in popular print magazines, the biography section of the school library and of course websites.