Objectives

Method of Summative Evaluation

1.  Within a small co-operative group setting, the students will create a list of basic necessities that they feel they need in life with 100% accuracy as evaluated by the teacher.

Written evaluation - Teacher observation of student created list

2.  Within a small co-operative group setting, given a scenario, the students will generate, display and explain a budget using a bar graph. Students must score at least 18 out of 20 on the rubric.

Product/oral evaluation - rubric

W

The activating strategy/introduction will help show the importance of planning ahead.  At the end of the activating strategy/introduction the students will know that they are going to be creating and explaining a bar graph because the teacher will state that fact.  In addition, the activity of making a list of necessities will help me know where the students are coming from.

H

Allowing the students the opportunity to think about the necessities of life along with exploring the moral of the story to plan ahead will help keep the students working in this activity.  The interesting paragraphs and the active task of creating a bar graph to present to students should hold the students attention throughout the activity.

E

Engagement will occur due to the fact that the students are working in co-operative groups with an end product in mind.  In addition, the lesson is broken up into several short although manageable chunks which limits the amount of down time.

R

The lesson gives many opportunities to reflect upon previous learning.  An example is the components of a good bar graph.  This includes a title, proper scale, and labels.  This lesson also may help them rethink the way they see life’s necessities and how to properly budget their money now and in the future.

E

The students will exhibit their understanding through many teacher prompts.  The students as a co-operative small group identify the moral of a fable on a whiteboard.  Students will also review the components of a bar graph on the whiteboard again.  In addition, the students will create a bar graph from a provided paragraph scenario.  At the conclusion of the lesson the students will explain their bar graph that they created.

T

This lesson can be tailored to individual needs.  The paragraphs may be read to students with reading difficulties and the groups can be designed to pair up individual student who work well together.  Students with fine motor skill limitations can be assigned as managers while the students with artistic abilities can be put in charge of drawing the bar graph.  The possibilities are limitless based on the student’s needs.

O

This lesson is organized to reinforce the math concepts of bar graphs while exposing the children to the new concept of a budget.  The lesson progresses from a timeless moral learned in a fable to applying the new concept of a budget with a math concept that the students are very familiar with in a bar graph.  This practical application of creating a bar graph for the purpose of understanding the concept of a budget is more logical than creating a bar graph with random data.

Strategy

Outline

Resources/ Materials

Related Skills

Objective 1 - Within a small co-operative group setting, the students will create a list of basic necessities that they feel they need in life with 100% accuracy as evaluated by the teacher.

Activating Strategy/ Introduction

(5 minutes)

As the students enter the classroom arrange them in small co-operative groups of three to four students per group. Make sure each group has a small whiteboard, marker and whiteboard eraser. Read Aesop’s fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper” out loud to the students. This fable is short but has an important message.

Give the students one minute to identify the main idea or moral of the story. Have the students hold their answers up on the whiteboard. Share some of the students’ answers with the entire class. Then share the idea that hard work and careful planning for the future can impact all of us in everyday life. In addition, tell the students that they are going to explore the idea of a budget and create a bar graph today and at the end of the lesson, they will explain the bar graph.

Resource 1

Equipment 1

CC.1.5.5.B

Activity

(6 minutes)

Next, explain the idea that an ant’s needs are much different than a human beings needs. Tell the students that they only have four minutes to create a list of items that they need in today’s world. It is important that you let the students create this list. Try not to influence their answers. Simply let them create this list.

You will get some answers that you will not agree with. An example that you might not agree with would be their personal gaming systems at home. This is a great opportunity to allow students to be creative and share their viewpoints.

After the four minutes are up have a spokesperson from each group quickly share their lists with the class.

Equipment 1

(4 minutes)

After the groups share their lists, thank the students for their lists and ideas. Then lead a short discussion about the necessities of life and the differences between needs and desires. At this point it is essential that you introduce the idea of budgets and how budgets will help people meet their needs by anticipating expenses in the future.

13.3.5.D

Objective 2 - Within a small co-operative group setting, given a scenario, the students will generate, display and explain a budget using a bar graph. Students must score at least 18 out of 20 on the rubric.

Review

Review the concepts of a bar graph. Have the students identify the key components of a bar graph on the whiteboard. The components are a title, scale and the labels of a bar graph (this is previously taught material).

CC.2.4.5.A.2 

Activity

After the students review the key concepts of the necessary elements of a bar graph, hand out the teacher created paragraphs to the student. Explain that these creative paragraphs explain who the person is and how they intend on spending their money in a month.

Explain that each co-operative student group is required to choose one of the paragraphs and generate a bar graph showing how each fictitious person expects to spend their money in a month. Using Excel, explain and demonstrate the process of creating a bar graph. Note that each group will be creating a bar graph for their person and presenting it to the class.

As a class, review the rubric and make sure students understand the criteria. Have them use the rubric as a guide during the creation of the bar graph.

Give the students 20 minutes to create their bar graph in Excel.

Resource 2

Resource 3

Equipment 1 Equipment 2

CC.1.2.5.L

CC.1.5.5.E

CC.1.5.5.F

Activity/ Presentation

Have each co-operative learning group present their bar graph to the class. Make sure they explain the entire bar graph. Have them identify the title and the labels of the bar graph, explain the scale of the bar graph and why they chose the scale that they did.

Equipment 1

Equipment 2

CC.2.4.5.A.2 

Closure/ Evaluation

At the conclusion of the presentations have the students go to individual seats and hand them a slip of paper asking them to answer some teacher generated questions. When the students are finished with the questions, they may hand in the paper and leave the classroom.

Resource 4

CC.2.4.5.A.2

13.3.5.D

Final Evaluation

Use the rubric to evaluate each presentation and return them to the groups, followed by a general discussion reviewing the results.

Resource 3