Authentic+Learning


 * Licensure Area:** Business Education


 * Title and Audience:** Developing a Personal Budget, Financial Planning, Grade Level: 10-12

**Standard 6.0**
**The student will analyze information on budgeting and responsible consumerism**.

**The student will:** 6.1 Design a plan for money management

**Student Performance Indicators: Evidence Standard Is Met**
**The student:** Assesses the need for personal, family and business budgets


 * Materials needed:** Paper, writing instrument, PC, internet access

Monthly Income: Wages, Allowance, Birthday money, anything related to funds coming in. Monthly Expenditures: Meals, clothing,dates,entertainment, anything related to funds going out.
 * Description:** The purpose of this lesson will be twofold. Initially students will create their own Excel spreadsheet to track their monthly finances. The spreadsheet should include but not be limited to:

The Excel spreadsheet should contain at least six columns: The columns should be as follows: 1. Date-date of the transaction. 2. Description/Income-list each income item. 3. Amount/Income-give the dollar amount of each income transaction. 4. Description/Expenditure-list each cost separately. 5. Amount/Expenditure- give the dollar amount of each expense transaction. 6. Monthly Savings or Monthly Loss. The amount/income and the amount/expenditure columns should use the autosum function to total each column. All entries in both columns should use the accounting function to show entries with a dollar sign and to show them in dollars and cents. Totals of each column should be figured in dollars and cents by Excel. Monthly Savings or loss should be figured by using a function and also listed in dollars and cents. When the students finish they should be able to track their monthly finances. This lesson will also help students become more familiar with Excel. Students may customize their spreadsheets in any way they like as long as all data is present.

The second part of this lesson will occur after students have completed their Excel spreadsheets. I will have students search Google.com and then search Google documents to find a pre-built personal monthly finances spreadsheet. I will then have them load their information into this spreadsheet. Afterwards they can compare the two and discuss their opinions concerning the two in a class discussion.

Grades will be based on the accuracy of the calculations made by the Excel spreadsheets. Students who do not have income or expenses will be provided with data to complete their spreadsheet. Active class discussion will result in bonus points awarded at the discretion of the teacher.


 * Scaffolds:** In this lesson Excel and the Excel help page will be the main scaffofds. Searching [|Google docs] will require basic internet skills and some direct instruction.


 * Technology to Support Authentic Instruction:** In this lesson I use authentic instruction in different ways. In the first part of the lesson students and creating their very own spreadsheet. I feel that all areas of authentic instruction are being met in this exercise. In the second part of the lesson I am helping the students to see other methods and other ideas concerning the same problems they had and various methods to solve these problems found through internet research.