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Eighth Grade - Language Arts
Activities
Saving for the Future
Financial and Economic Concept: Savings and Financial Investments
Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 1 (Reading Comprehension): Students will use vocabulary development and an understanding of text elements and structures to comprehend literary and informational grade level text.
Objective 1 (Word Analysis, Vocabulary Development): Determine word meaning through word parts, definitions, and context clues.
Saving Power=Spending Power Slideshow (ppt)
This PowerPoint presentation gives very basic explanations of different types of savings accounts.
Click on Slide 2: Types of Savings Accounts and explain there are three common types of savings accounts that most banks or credit unions offer.
Click on Slide 3: Passbook Savings Account and review the key features—requires a minimum balance to open, a person may make deposits and withdrawals at any time, an ATM/debit card is provided, but this type of account pays the lowest interest rate.
Click on Slide 4: Money Market Account and point out that it requires a minimum balance, has a limit on the number of deposits and withdrawals, but offers a slightly higher interest rate than a passbook.
Click on Slide 5: Certificate of Deposit (CD) and tell students that a large minimum amount is required, a CD is time-based in months and years, it usually pays the highest interest, but there is a penalty for early withdrawal. Explain the penalty is typically the amount of interest one would have earned in the remaining months of the CD plus a fee. Money withdrawn in month four of a six-month CD would lose two months of interest plus a penalty for early withdrawal.
Click on Slide 6: Which one is best? Discuss which account is best and point out that it depends on savings goals, one’s timeframe, how much one wants to earn, how the money will be used, and how much money one has to open the account.
Tell students that Liquidity means the readiness with which an item can be converted into cash without losing at least some of its value. Point out that a passbook account is more liquid than a CD and therefore is likely the best choice for short-term savings goals (A Penny Saved, page 9, box 3).
Key to quiz at the end of slideshow:
| 1. a | 6. b |
| 2. a | 7. a |
| 3. b | 8. b |
| 4. a | 9. b |
| 5. b | 10. a |
Complete Lesson Plan (pdf)
A Penny Saved - Comic Book
Financial and Economic Concept: Savings and Financial Investments Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 1 (Reading Comprehension): Students will use vocabulary development and an understanding of text elements and structures to comprehend literary and informational grade level text.
Objective 2 (Comprehension of Informational Text): Comprehend and evaluate informational text.
Distribute the comic book A Penny Saved. (Up to 35 copies available free)
Hand out A Penny Saved: Student Worksheet. Tell students to read pages 2–11 and answer the questions as they read. (The approximate time to complete this activity is 30 minutes.)
A Penny Saved: Student Worksheet (pdf)
A Penny Saved: Student Worksheet - Answer Key (pdf)
Review A Penny Saved: Student Worksheet with the students, using A Penny Saved: Answer Sheet. Discuss selected questions and provide clarification of concepts when necessary. Have students discuss and compare the things they wanted and listed with the things the characters in the comic wanted on pages 2–5 of the comic book (a diamond, a wedding, college, sneakers, travel, a house). Ask students to give examples of the possible consequences of not saving. (Answers should include having no protection for emergencies or unforeseen problems and having no reserve amount for special occasions).
Review key vocabulary words. Have students write the terms on their worksheets or on a separate sheet of paper.
- Savings - Putting money safely aside for future use. Ask students what “safely” might mean.
- Spending power – The ability (power) to pay, to be prepared for emergencies, or to be prepared to pay for what we want in the future.
- Interest – A fee for the use of money over time. Interest is money earned on a savings account. It is also money charged to a borrower.
- Compound interest – Interest paid on previously earned interest as well as on the original deposit. Explain that compound interest amounts to more than simple interest that is only paid on the original deposit. Make sure students now understand that saving money in a bank or credit union keeps the money safe and earns them more money.
Refer students to A Penny Saved, page 7, box 4, and have them read what the characters say about earning interest. Tell students that they will soon learn more about the computation of interest, but for now they should look at A Penny Saved, page 8, which illustrates the growth of an account with simple versus compound interest. Refer to the charts and point out the difference in amounts earned between the two types of interest.
Point out to students that there is a quick method of calculating how fast savings grow with compound interest. A Penny Saved, page 8, box 3, explains the Rule of 72. The Rule of 72 tells how many years it will take for savings to double with compound interest. Explain to students that if they divide the interest rate into 72, the answer is approximately the number of years it will take savings to double with compound interest. For example, with a 9 percent compound interest rate, savings will double in approximately 8 years (72/9 = 8). With a 3 percent compound interest rate, savings will double in approximately 24 years (72/3 = 24).
Complete Lesson Plan (pdf)
The Fed Today
Financial and Economic Concept: Monetary and fiscal policy Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 1 (Reading Comprehension): Students will use vocabulary development and an understanding of text elements and structures to comprehend literary and informational grade level text.
Objective 2 (Comprehension of Informational Text): Comprehend and evaluate informational text.
The Fed Today Video (DVD). Available free from the Federal
Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
Distribute a copy of the worksheet: The Fed Today—Look for the Answers! Tell students they are going to watch a DVD/video about the Federal Reserve System and that they should look for the answers to the questions in Activity 3. Show the DVD/video The Fed Today.
The Fed Today - Look for the Answers! (pdf)
Complete Lesson Plan (pdf)
The Game Changed
Financial and Economic Concept: Savings and Financial Investments Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 1 (Reading Comprehension): Students will use vocabulary development and an understanding of text elements and structures to comprehend literary and informational grade level text.
Objective 2 (Comprehension of Informational Text): Comprehend and evaluate informational text.
Excerpt from article:
“The Millennial generation, or Gen Y, ranges from people in their 20s to those still in grade school. But what they all have in common is the knowledge that the recession has in some way shattered the world they thought they knew. And, depending upon how long the downturn lasts, historians, economists and psychologists say it could shape Millennials’ values and attitudes in much the same way the Depression shaped the attitudes of those growing up in the 1930s.”
Students read the article and answer discussion questions (30 minutes), complete the “Get with the savings plan, man” activity/worksheet (15 minutes), debrief and apply as a class (10 minutes).
Complete Lesson Plan (Click on “Those just starting out find the game changed” next to the topic of Savings.)
In Plain English
Financial and Economic Concept: Monetary and fiscal policy Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 1 (Reading Comprehension): Students will use vocabulary development and an understanding of text elements and structures to comprehend literary and informational grade level text.
Objective 2 (Comprehension of Informational Text): Comprehend and evaluate informational text.
In Plain English: Making Sense of the Federal Reserve (DVD). Available from the Federal
Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Show the students the DVD In Plain English: Making Sense of the Federal Reserve (fourteen minutes long) and then have them complete the worksheet. Distribute a print copy of In Plain English: Making Sense of the Federal Reserve (available for free from website above). Refer students to page 17 and use the reference pages listed on the quiz to check their answers to the worksheet. Review the answers with students.
Can You Answer These in Plain English (pdf)
Can You Answer These in Plain English - Answer Key (pdf)
NYSE Made Easy
Financial and Economic Concept: Saving & Financial Investments Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 1 (Reading Comprehension): Students will use vocabulary development and an understanding of text elements and structures to comprehend literary and informational grade level text.
Objective 2 (Comprehension of Informational Text): Comprehend and evaluate informational text.
This lesson will help students to understand the terms that are associated with the New York Stock Exchange. It will also help students to read a stock market report found in any major newspaper or online.
NYSE Made Easy Worksheet (pdf)
Payroll Taxes are Simple, Steady and In Trouble
Financial and Economic Concept: Insurance and Earning an Income Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 1 (Reading Comprehension): Students will use vocabulary development and an understanding of text elements and structures to comprehend literary and informational grade level text.
Objective 2 (Comprehension of Informational Text): Comprehend and evaluate informational text.
Excerpt form lesson:
“It can be a little disheartening to see how much of your paycheck will not make it into your bank account. However, it’s important to think about the necessity of funding government programs that help all Americans, including you and your family. And, if you are unhappy with the way the government is handling your hard-earned money, that’s all the more reason to vote for candidates at the local, state and national level who you feel will do the best job at managing the government.”
Students read the article and answer discussion questions (25 minutes), complete the “Dissecting your paycheck” activity/worksheet (25 minutes), debrief and apply as a class (10 minutes).
Complete Lesson Plan (Click on “Payroll taxes are simple, steady – and in trouble” next to the topic of Payroll Taxes.)
SKILLS Bingo
Financial and Economic Concept: Career Management, including earning an income Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 1 (Reading Comprehension): Students will use vocabulary development and an understanding of text elements and structures to comprehend literary and informational grade level text.
Objective 2 (Comprehension of Informational Text): Comprehend and evaluate informational text.
Find a table or other surface to work on. Spread the four header cards across the top of the table. Read each skill card and place it beneath the header card that best expresses your feelings about that skill.
The next step is “focusing.” Begin by selecting the five most satisfying skills from the cards in your VERY SATISFYING group. Place any extra cards in the MODERATELY SATISFYING group. From the MODERATELY SATISFYING group, select the 10 most satisfying skills and place any remaining cards in the SOMEWHAT SATISFYING group. Finally, choose up to 20 SOMEWHAT SATISFYING skills and place any extra cards in the NOT SATISFYING group.
On a separate sheet of paper, record all of the numbers of the skills you selected for each group. You will need to enter these numbers into the SKILLS program on the computer.
SKILLS Cards (pdf)
Who Needs Math?
Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 1 (Reading Comprehension): Students will use vocabulary development and an understanding of text elements and structures to comprehend literary and informational grade level text.
Objective 2 (Comprehension of Informational Text): Comprehend and evaluate informational text.
There’s hardly a student who has made it through a high school trigonometry class without asking, “When am I ever going to use this stuff in real life?” This publication is intended to answer precisely that question.
What you’ll find within these pages is a collection of interviews with real professionals in a wide variety of occupations, all of whom use math regularly. As you read, you’ll see that math turns up in some surprising places. Want to be a welder? Better not skimp on the geometry and trig. What about interior design? You’ll need higher math skills to calculate the arc for that countertop. Simply put: math is everywhere!
Some ideas for using this publication include assigning an interview to each student then have them share in small groups what was learned.
Another idea is to have students read the interviews in small groups, then share with the large group what they learned. Each career could be introduced with a quick game of charades to have the class guess the groups’ assigned occupation.
Students could be assigned to write interview questions, then interview a person with a math career not given on the list. Students would then add to the interviews with written answers to the questions, in the same format at the publication.
Who Needs Math Workbook (pdf)
You Can Bank on It!
Financial and Economic Concept: Monetary Policy Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 1 (Reading Comprehension): Students will use vocabulary development and an understanding of text elements and structures to comprehend literary and informational grade level text.
Objective 2 (Comprehension of Informational Text): Comprehend and evaluate informational text.
Students will thoroughly understand the purpose and functions of the Federal Reserve System and its effect on our nation’s economy. They will learn that monetary policies are decisions by the Federal Reserve System that lead to changes in the supply of money and the availability of credit. Changes in the money supply can influence overall levels of spending, employment, and prices by inducing changes in interest rates charged for credit and by affecting the levels of personal and business investment spending.
Complete Lesson Plan (pdf)
Author's Previous Careers
Financial and Economic Concept: Careers Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 2 (Writing): Students will write informational and literary text to reflect on and recreate experiences, report observations and persuade others
Objective 1 (Writing to Learn): Students will write informational and literary text to reflect on and recreate experiences, report observations and persuade others
For this activity, students research authors.
- After completing a short story unit, have students choose one of the authors who was covered and write a paragraph essay (five paragraph essay) on the author's life. Have the essay focus on previous careers that the author held.
- After the essays are written, have students share the information they learned regarding the author's various careers.
- Discuss the need to be a life-long learner and that most workers will change careers at least 5-7 times in their life. Students must learn to adapt to change in order to be successful in the future.
Career Choices: Then, Now, and for the Future
Financial and Economic Concept: Careers Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 2 (Writing): Students will write informational and literary text to reflect on and recreate experiences, report observations and persuade others
Objective 1 (Writing to Learn): Students will write informational and literary text to reflect on and recreate experiences, report observations and persuade others
For this activity, students learn about the world of work and career planning from those actually out there: adults.
Have students interview an adult who has worked in the same type of job for at least 10 years using the following questions:
- What is your job?
- What skills did you need to get your job?
- What education did you need?
- How did you get your education and skills?
- Have you had to do additional training to keep current in your job?
- Do people being hired now have to have different skills and training?
- Where and how are they getting their training?
- How have job responsibilities changed since you first worked in the field?
- Why do you think your responsibilities have changed?
- Are there more people being hired in your field from diverse backgrounds?
- How do you see your job changing in 10 years? 20?
- Why do you think your job will change?
- What education and skills will be needed then?
With their information, have students write a short story about the person they interviewed (can be fiction or non-fiction). This can be first or third person, but should reflect how society has changed over the span of the person's life experience. Include cultural trends, societal changes, and differing family expectations.
Expository Writing on Career Choice
Financial and Economic Concept: Careers Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 2 (Writing): Students will write informational and literary text to reflect on and recreate experiences, report observations and persuade others
Objective 1 (Writing to Learn): Students will write informational and literary text to reflect on and recreate experiences, report observations and persuade others
For this activity, students increase their descriptive and expository writing skills while learning about careers.
Part One
Lecture students about descriptive writing, emphasizing the use of sight words, sound words, touch words, smell words, and taste words (imagery). Specifically:
- Sight words can focus on color, size, shape, surface appearance or action.
- Touch words can include texture, temperature, shape, weight, and density.
- Sounds words can refer to the volume, pitch, and sound quality.
- Smell words can refer to any of the 2000 different odors the human nose can detect.
- Taste words can refer to the sweetness, sourness, saltiness, or bitterness.
Ask each student to visit a place of business, preferably in a career area of their choice. Students should take notes of things that appeal to the senses. They should use adjectives and phrases to describe what they see, hear, smell, feel, and taste in the air.
Have students write a description of the place of business they visited, using the imagery words and phrases recorded during their visit. Student writing can be narrative (story line) in style, with the inclusion of the imagery words and phrases.
Ask students to peer edit and critique each other's descriptions.
Have students make necessary corrections and rewrite the description.
Part Two
Lecture students about expository writing, emphasizing that it answers the questions who, where, what, when, why, and how.
Ask each student to select a career field of interest.
Have students to brainstorm specific questions beginning with the words who, where, what, when, why and how. Some questions may include:
- Who is best suited for such a job?
- Where would you get the best education to prepare for such a job?
- Where in the country, or world are there jobs available in this field?
- What qualifications or personality traits do you need for such a job?
- What would your job responsibilities be in this field?
- When would you need to complete various courses in order to prepare for this job?
- When are these jobs most likely to be available?
- Why is this career choice a good choice?
- Why might this career choice be a bad choice?
- How much would you need to invest to get the education necessary for this career field?
- How much money would you make in this field?
Once questions have been formulated, direct students to use CIS to research the answer to these questions.
Have students organize their information into a logical pattern and write an essay based on their research.
Ask students to peer edit and critique each other's essays.
Have students make necessary corrections and rewrite their essays.
Career Short Stories
Financial and Economic Concept: Careers Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 2 (Writing): Students will write informational and literary text to reflect on and recreate experiences, report observations and persuade others
Objective 2 (Extended Writing): Write to identify and reflect on feelings to recreate experiences.
Note: Emphasize short biographies, narratives, or memoirs. Students should use the entire writing process to produce at least one extended piece per term, not necessarily limited to the type of writing emphasized at individual grade levels.
For this activity, students write a short story that features a particular occupation.
Have students choose a career that interests them and research the basic information about the career (education requirements, salary range, skills and abilities, tools and equipment used, etc.)
After completing this research, have students write a fiction story centered on this occupation. Although the story line can be fiction, the career area must be realistic based on their research.
Identify some fictional stories that have a particular career focus as examples for the students.
Examples of short stories:
- The Green Mile--prison guard
- The Minister's Black Veil--clergy
- Dr. Heidegger's Experiment--doctor
- A Summer's Reading-- odd jobs of a high school drop out
- A Sound of Thunder-- travel agent
Examples of novels:
- Almost any of John Grisholm's books--lawyers
- Coma--medical occupations
Career Writing Prompts
Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 2 (Writing): Students will write informational and literary text to reflect on and recreate experiences, report observations and persuade others
Objective 2 (Extended Writing): Write to identify and reflect on feelings to recreate experiences
For this activity, students write responses to prompts that relate to skills applicable to both school and the workplace.
The following are writing prompts to be used as bell work or class starters. The responses need to be a minimum of three to five sentences.
Have students include how their response relates to school and work.
Note to teachers: Remember to emphasize to students to respond to the writing prompts in a school and workplace setting. For example, the prompt “Something I would like to accomplish this month…”, would have a response such as “completing my homework on time” rather than “learning to ride a skateboard.”
- I usually solve problems by…
- The easiest way for me to learn something new is…
- When something is difficult for me, I...
- I can help my community by…
- Something I would like to change at school is…
- Something I would like to accomplish this month…
- I plan to be a life-long learner by…
- I am proud of…
- I always feel successful when I…
- When I'm not prepared for class I…
- When I am upset I would like…
- The best way for me to study is…
- One of my favorite places is…
- I would like to save money for…
- In five years I would like to be…
- My ideal job is…
Career News Broadcast
Financial and Economic Concept: Career Management, including earning an income Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 3 (Inquiry/Research/Oral Presentation): Students will understand the process of seeking and giving information in conversations, group discussions, written reports, and oral presentations.
Objective 1 (Processes of Inquiry): Use the process of inquiry to focus thinking toward understanding an idea or concept.
For this activity, students create a newscast with the broadcasters discussing careers.
Refer to the worksheet "A Career News Broadcast" for specific instructions.
Note: Before using this activity, preview a news show (such as News Depth or Linda Ellerbee's Nickelodeon News) to provide a basic understanding of a news format show.
Career News Broadcast Worksheet (pdf)
Monetary Policy in Your Own Back Yard
Financial and Economic Concept: Monetary and fiscal policy Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 3 (Inquiry/Research/Oral Presentation): Students will understand the process of seeking and giving information in conversations, group discussions, written reports, and oral presentations.
Objective 1 (Processes of Inquiry): Use the process of inquiry to focus thinking toward understanding an idea or concept.
In this activity, students learn about the structure and functions of the Federal Reserve System, the Fed’s role in formulating monetary policy, and how members of Reserve Banks’ board of directors contribute to interest rate–setting decisions. Using simulations, students become members of the board of directors of a Reserve Bank, which allows them to observe and discuss the diverse makeup of boards throughout the Federal Reserve System. Other students become business leaders in the community, contributing economic intelligence to monetary policymaking.
In the simulation, students will follow the information gathering process-from conducting a mock board of directors meeting, to composing a summary statement of their findings for the Reserve Bank’s president to use at an FOMC meeting, with a recommendation on whether to raise, lower, or maintain interest rates.
Apples/Oranges - Saving/Investing
Financial and Economic Concept: Saving and financial investing Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 3 (Inquiry/Research/Oral Presentation): Students will understand the process of seeking and giving information in conversations, group discussions, written reports, and oral presentations
Objective 2 (Oral Communication of Inquiry): Participate in and report on small group learning activities.
Lesson and activity: Read and interpret stock market price reports.
- Break students into groups to study information on Saving strategies, Investing strategies, and Rates of return
- Have each group answer the questions for the topic(s) they covered, and teach the class what they learned
Complete Lesson Plan (pdf)
Careers on a Soapbox
Financial and Economic Concept: Careers Eighth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 3 (Inquiry/Research/Oral Presentation): Students will understand the process of seeking and giving information in conversations, group discussions, written reports, and oral presentations
Objective 3 (Oral Communication of Inquiry): Participate in and report on small group learning activities.
For this activity, students give an extemporaneous speech on a Benjamin Franklin saying from his Poor Richard's Almanac. They will also rewrite one of Franklin's sayings so it is more appropriate for today.
