Objective
Students will synthesize the various skills that they have acquired throughout this unit. They will reflect on what they have learned and how it will be useful to them later in life. Students will discuss one author's perspective on budgeting and finance.
Materials
30 copies of a brief excerpt from Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich .
Procedures
- To ease students into the reading assignment, we will first talk about how their projects are going and how they feel about what they are discovering. (5 minutes)
- Then, they will read independently from an excerpt from Nickel and Dimed.(20 Minutes)
- When students are finished reading the excerpt they will reflect on it in their journals, considering what the author's message is, how they feel about that message and how it relates to their projects.(10 min)
- We will then discuss the excerpt as a class. Special focus will be gven to what the author's message is, how we can use this information effectively, and how closely her experience mirrors what we have found in our research.(20 min)
Homework
Students will be asked to interview two adults regarding their experiences with urban living and budgeting. They will then write a short summary of their findings and how closely those findings related to the student's experience with writing a budget and with the author's experience in Nickel and Dimed.
Assessment
Students will receive a grade for this period based on participation. The homework assignment will be graded based on effort/time put in.
Literacy
The students will write in their journals after the independent reading.
Debriefing
Watch for students that seem to be struggling with the reading assignment. Walk around the class while the students read and be ready to assist.
