#1405. Can I Make It?

Social Studies, level: Senior
Posted Thu Nov 18 18:58:02 PST 1999 by Bill Burkhalter (burk21@hotmail.com).
Hugo High School, Hugo, Oklahoma
Materials Required: Monthly budget form, 12 individual monthly problem sheets
Activity Time: one week
Concepts Taught: To help students understand financial independence

Students are given a monthly salary (I use $950) and a monthly budget form. They are required to buy a car, pay rent and utilities, and are given a list of optional expenses such as health ins., auto ins., etc. Each monthly problem sheet requires them to solve different problems associated with social studies. Examles: filling out job applications, calculating distances on a map when they go to a city such as Dallas for a rock concert, voter registration, tax clculating or any other type of activity that you might think. I require one budget sheet filled out and all associated forms or problems solved for each month. We are on block schedule so we do two to three months per day. After 12 months (one week) they turn in a notebook with a standard final total. Anyone not matching that total is audited by the IRS.