bp4-20100208-web2.0tools

I found a really great site that would be excellent for teaching students about finances and the way banks work. The site is designed for parents and children to keep track of their allowances and the child's spending. It utilizes the parent as the bank and offers direct deposit of the child's allowance into their account. It is all done with virtual money so no real money changes hands. The student then withdraws money from their account when they need to purchase something and it even has a feature that allows the child to write a check, but will not allow them to overdraw the account. It is Zefty Simpler Allowances for Kids (and Parents) at http://zefty.com
Many of today's economic problems are created because people do not know how to manage their money. There are all kinds of debt solution advertisements on the television, bankruptcy ads and credit solutions on the web. Many students graduate high school and do not even know how to write a check or balance a checkbook. With this in mind, Zefty gave me the idea to plan a unit using it for the hands on experience students do not get.
What I envisioned as a unit lesson on finance would be to have the students begin by playing a game of LIFE. This would set their education, profession or job, marriage, and number of children. They would get an idea of what types of bills they would be expected to pay, where extra money might come in and unexpected crisis they would encounter. The next step would be to set up a Zefty account for them.
Students would then use the Internet to access a site http://www.electronicpayments.org/individuals/in.direct-deposit.php to find out what direct deposit is and how it works. After reading the introduction, students will follow the link Learn how it works to watch a tutorial on direct deposit. After watching the video, students will fill out a direct deposit form for their Zefty account. Their wages from their job will be deposited into their account on a weekly basis.
Students will also have regular payments they must make, i.e. utility bills, mortgage or rent, insurance, car payments, etc. The students would investigate different ways to make these payments, direct payment, check, or cash. They can use the electronicpayments.org site to find the benefits and how direct payment works. They can then arrange to have the amounts either withdrawn manually in cash, by writing a check or by setting up direct payment. They would need to determine which payments could be made using each method. Students will also need to keep track of their deposits and withdrawals since Zefty will not allow the account to be overdrawn.
Students will need to learn how to budget their money to save for purchasing of things they want. Zefty will help them determine how much and how long they need to save for their purchases.
This unit will help the students learn about finances and how the banking system works. Using the Internet for information will entice some students into doing the required work. Working with Zefty will give the students hands on experience to help understand what they are learning by doing. When students search for the answers to a problem then put their information to work so they can experience it, the learning is retained better. Therefore, this exercise will help students learn about personal finances, how the banking system works and how they can manage their money better. This information will help the students through out school and the rest of their lives.
This lesson could be adapted for grades from upper elementary through high school by adjusting the amount of liberty given in searching out the information, the information the students are expected to learn and use. It could also be set up to be a parent student project with the parent being the banker and making the deposits and withdrawals the student needs to make. They could explore the different areas of banking and learn together.