Budgeting for a Vacation

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Program Name (as applicable): Exploring Family and Consumer Sciences

  Course Title: Exploring Family and Consumer Sciences

  Course Number: 8960370

  Career Cluster: Human Services

  CIP Number: 14896037MS

  Course Type: Middle School

  CTE Benchmarks:

  CTE-HS.68.8960370.5.1 Identify needs versus wants.

  CTE-HS.68.8960370.5.4 Develop a plan for resource management (i.e., develop a plan for managing a budget)

  Integrated Benchmarks:

  ELA.6.V.1.1 Integrate academic vocabulary appropriate to grade level in speaking and writing.

  ELA.7.V.1.1 Integrate academic vocabulary appropriate to grade level in speaking and writing.

  ELA.8.V.1.1 Integrate academic vocabulary appropriate to grade level in speaking and writing.

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson is designed to be used with the case study, “Budgeting Bond.” See CPALMS resource ID#221973.

• Career Connection

  
  

  This lesson plan connects academic learning to real-world understanding of the importance of acknowledging the difference between a want and a need when budgeting money. The students will apply the case study academic vocabulary and industry vocabulary from a word bank to participate in authentic speaking and writing tasks such as exploring and researching parts of a budget for a vacation. After academic discussions and writing a plan, the students will also develop digital literacy within a presentation. the student will identify the difference between a need and a want then applying the vocabulary while creating a personal spending budget for a vacation.

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Identify needs versus wants for planning a vacation.
  • Develop a plan for managing a budget for a vacation.
  • Integrate academic vocabulary to develop a vacation budget and work as a team to create a presentation for their peers.

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should be familiar with/able to:

  • Participating in group discussions and collaborating with peers.
  • Perform calculations with values of money into the thousands.
  • Online research.

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • What is the difference between a want and a need?
  • How can differentiating between wants and needs assist with budget planning?
  • How can understanding and managing a budget affect future spending?

• Procedure

  
  
  1. To introduce the lesson, post the following questions and elicit student responses. Write students responses on the board, under each question.
     • What is an example of something a person needs?
     • What is an example of something a person wants?
  2. Provide students the case study (“Budgeting Bonds,” see CPALMS resource ID# 221973) and have them read it independently and then discuss with a partner.
  3. Provide each student the attachment, "Academic Word Bank," and tell them to (individually) use the case study to define or describe each term and then categorize it as a "need" or a "want". (While students do this, the teacher can create a large T-chart on the board and label one heading, "Need" and the other, "Want".)
     • Next, have students discuss with a partner and update their work as necessary. (The teacher should walk around the room, answering questions and making sure partners are on-task.)
     • Lead a whole-class discussion where student pairs share with the class why they identified the word in that particular category. Fill in the T-chart as students agree on the category where each term fits. Provide guidance as necessary.
     • To conclude this activity, ask students, "Why is it important to differentiate between a "need" or a "want" when you have a set amount of money to spend on a vacation?" (A sample answer can be, "If you spend all of your money on your wants, your needs may not be met; you may have no where to sleep or no food to eat.")
  4. Next, lead a whole-class discussion to analyze the case study. Students can orally discuss these comprehension questions:
     • How do Mia and Jess differ in their "needs" and "wants" for spending on their vacation?
     • Identify the spending habits of Mia and Jess?
     • Explain how the two women can communicate and compromise so they agree on their priorities of spending within the budget?
     • How can this budgeting experience improve the women’s future budgeting choices?
  5. Next, put students into pairs and explain the components of the project.
     • You will be given a "Budget Worksheet" (See attachment) to plan a vacation. Use the worksheet to focus on items you personally want and need for your budget, for example, airfare versus a souvenir.
       • Assume you have a budget of $5,000.00 to spend on a 7-day vacation.
       • Your destination must be within the United States. (This will avoid extra fees such as passports, immunizations, etc.).
     • After your "Budget Worksheet" is completed, find pictures online that align with your expense categories.
     • Compile all details of your vacation into a slide presention that you will present to the class.
       • Using research and examples, students will estimate amounts for spending in each expense category of the budget and create a slide to present for each category of the vacation budget to demonstrate the understanding of balanced budget spending portions on vacation wants and needs.
  6. While the class is listening to other groups present, the teacher may record notes about each presentation (See attachment "Presentation Notes").
  7. To bring the lesson to a close, the teacher can pose the following future career connection questions for small or whole group discussion:
  • • How did problem solving and critical thinking help in solving this woman’s budget concerns?
    • How is the skill of building a vacation budget similar to other types of budgets such as home budget, school budget, or a business?
    • Explore a different narrative outcome for the case study?

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • This lesson can be completed over 2 class periods as needed.
  • To enhance vocabulary understanding, teacher can make a T- chart on the board for each term and have students provide examples.
  • Optional: Teacher may provide calculators for mathematical money calculations.