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Tenth Grade - Language Arts
Activities
Federal Credit Card Slap Down
Financial and Economic Concepts: Loans and Borrowing
Tenth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 1 (Reading): 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 (i.e., essays, nonfiction articles, workplace and consumer documents, electronic text).
Time: 45-60 Minutes
Materials: Handouts, writing materials
Excerpt from article:
“The movement to reform credit card practices is gaining speed as the White House and Congress target punishing fee practices they say are contributing to a growing number of Americans’ financial distress.
Today, President Obama and economic adviser Lawrence Summers are meeting at the White House with executives from more than a dozen credit card companies to discuss whether, and to what extent, issuers’ policies have saddled consumers with unaffordable debt. The administration — which scheduled the meeting at the request of some issuers — has promised to address credit card practices that Summers recently blamed for coaxing consumers “into paying extraordinarily high rates that they wouldn’t have paid if they knew what they were getting themselves into.”
Complete Lesson Plan (Click on “Credit card rates headed for federal slapdown” next to the topic of Credit and Debit cards.)
Gen Xers Secure Retirement
Financial and Economic Concepts: Retirement Tenth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 1 (Reading): 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 (i.e., essays, nonfiction articles, workplace and consumer documents, electronic text).
Time: Variable 25-55 Minutes
Materials: Handouts, writing materials
This article discusses seven ways Gen Xers can help secure their retirement.
Complete Lesson Plan (Click on “7 Ways Gen Xers to help secure their retirement” next to the topic of Retirement.)
Who's Uninsured?
Financial and Economic Concepts: Insurance Tenth Grade – Language Arts
Standard 1 (Reading): 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 (i.e., essays, nonfiction articles, workplace and consumer documents, electronic text).
Time: 35 Minutes
Materials: Handouts, writing materials
46 million people are stuck; here’s how it happened in 6 cases
Students read the article and answer discussion questions (20 minutes), and complete the “Know the jargon” activity/worksheet (15 minutes).
Complete Lesson Plan (Click on “Who’s uninsured in 2007? It’s more than just the poor” next to the topic of Healthcare Insurance.)
Jeanie Poem
Financial and Economic Concepts: Retirement Planning Tenth 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): Interpret and analyze ideas and perspectives to clarify thinking through writing.
Time: 20 Minutes
Materials: Handout or overhead of poem, writing materials
Make and distribute a copy of the poem, Jeanie by David Budbill. Have students read and discuss the poem and consider their own future, in terms of career and lifestyle.
After pointing out the literary aspects of the poem, discuss the issues surrounding independent living and what kind of life they want to have in the future.
Ask students to write an essay describing how they are going to be living in 30 years. Have them answer the following questions:
- What is your house like?
- Where do you live?
- Who do you live with?
- Are you married?
- Do you have children?
- What type of car do you drive?
- Where do you go on vacation?
- What kind of career do you have?
- What type of training do you have?
- What is your salary?
After students write their essays, refer back to the poem and hold a class discussion. Discussion questions to consider asking students include:
- Is Jeanie living the life she planned? Why or why not?
- What type of planning is necessary to achieve your goals?
Next, ask students review their lifestyle essay. Have them research the careers they chose. Discuss whether the careers they chose will allow them to live the lifestyle they desire.
Jeanie Poem (pdf)
Plastic Diets Make You Fat
Financial and Economic Concepts: Loans and borrowing money, including interest, credit card debt, predatory lending, and payday loans Tenth 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 persuade others.
Time: 30-45 Minutes
Materials: Computer with Internet, projector, writing materials
After having students view the video, have them write a persuasive paper on why they think credit is good, bad, or both, including reasons why.
