Managing Money Introduction to Education & Practicum (CIED 1001 & 1002) Dr. Regina M. Ryel Thomason, Ed. D Team Members: Brandi Cole Carmen Dunbar Stephanie Vandergrift

Harvey Jones Elementary School Springdale, Arkansas Mrs. Gibson’s 5 th Grade Class

Background Information Mrs. Gibson’s 5 th grade class at Jones Elementary in Springdale are completing a semester long study on economics. Every student in the class “earns a living” by completing various jobs in the classroom throughout the month. In order to teach her students about budgeting, Mrs. Gibson’s students also pay a monthly “rent” on their desk. The students have the option to pay a monthly rent until they save up enough money to buy the desk from Mrs. Gibson. The monthly rent on a desk is $700, and the amount to purchase the desk is $3,000. Some students chose to rent their desk while other students decided to save their money and purchase the desk.

Introduction Our group decided to not only help reinforce the budgeting and money management principles that Mrs. Gibson’s class was learning, but we also incorporated a skill building lesson on using decimals points. After we divided the class into 3 teams, each Pre- Service Teacher worked with their specific team to help them “Balance their Checkbook”. Once each team balanced their budget, the Pre- service teachers lead the students in a discussion on various ways to save money and how to budget wisely. The students enthusiastically shared ideas about saving money & “cutting costs”.

“Life is a Balancing Act” Students Balancing their Checkbook

Project Overview As a group, we created a lesson plan incorporating several of the course outcome from our Introduction to Education class. Our EMPACTS project provided us with a new knowledge of lesson planning as well as experience with regards to communicating professionally with educators.

Project Objective Our team will gain greater awareness of cultural perspective as well as achieving mathematical literacy. The group will use computers proficiently and develop oral communication skills. We will broaden our understanding of the role of the schools in our society by developing foundational knowledge in the field of education related to school governance, finance, philosophy, history, legal, laws and legal issues, reform movements, and ethics as applied to teaching and schools.

NWACC Learners Connecting with the Community Community By collaborating/ partnering with a 5 th grade teacher, we developed networking skills as well as made contacts with the Northwest Arkansas community. We served the children of the Springdale School District by helping the students learn course content according to the Arkansas Frameworks for fifth graders. We communicated with Mrs. Melissa Fink, principal of Jones Elementary in Springdale, AR., as well as Mrs. Kim Gibson, 5 th grade teacher at Jones Elementary.

Curriculum Connections Our group project helped fulfill our Intro to Education Course Outcome of “Students will work in teams to make presentations, participate in and complete class and community projects.” (Intro to Education Course Syllabus) The project also helped fulfill our course Practicum learning outcome to “Recognize the practical applications of learning theories, philosophical concepts, the role and nature of schooling and teaching, and education in general.”(Intro to Education Practicum) Course Outcomes

Technology Connection “Hardware”

Technology Connection “Software” & Resources Used Microsoft Word 2007 Microsoft Office Power Point The Internet Arkansas Frameworks ( The Book Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire by Rafe Esquith

Skills Developed Team Skills Leadership Teamwork Collaboration Organization Communication Individual Time Management Problem Solving Team Tolerance Public Speaking

Acknowledgments & Appreciation Mrs. Kim Gibson - 5 th grade Jones Elementary in Springdale, AR Mrs. Melissa Fink – Principal of Jones Elementary in Springdale, AR The book Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire by Rafe Esquith Dr. Regina M. Ryel Thomason Ed.D – EAST/EMPACTS Curriculum Coordinator Arkansas Department of Education /Arkansas Curriculum Frameworks C. Diane Phillips MS/MA EAST/EMPACTS Facilitator