ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Needs Assessment/Rational

For the students serviced at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch/Western Plains School in Bismarck, math topics, especially money concepts, are very difficult to grasp. This population of pupils have a dual special educational diagnosis, usually in the areas of Mental Retardation and Emotional Disturbance. Because of their lower academic functioning abilities, work needs to be presented at an elementary level, at about the 4th grade level typically, depending on each individual student. However, these kids are older than that age group. The average age at this time is about 13 or 14 years old, so content needs to address the issues they face through transitionally appropriate goals. These students are in a residential placement setting and have been in placement most of their lives. Due to the fact that many of them do not have a suitable home to go to for the long term, they are moved between more and less restrictive educational settings often and do not stay in one place for a very long period of time usually, making them somewhat transiant characteristically. Since they are not in one place for an extended period of time, their educational needs and abilities are difficult to assess accurately and they do not have a chance to learn the required material in certain subjects when they are presented because they weren’t at that school when it was being taught. Perhaps they came to that school after the fact. Example: The money unit in math was taught in November and they were not enrolled until January thereby missing the instruction of those essential concepts taught. By evaluating students using performance-based assessments, the teacher can identify strengths and weaknesses and address them immediately during instruction. Also, this type of student is not traditionally successful in completing the usual paper and pencil type assignments or tests and do better overall in demonstrating their capabilities through project completion.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: I want my students to understand that math is a part of everyday life. Money is especially important because everyone needs it live but a lot of people (even adults) do not know how to handle it. I want my students to truly understand and make the connection between money and their survival. Goal(s): Students will understand the importance of money and demonstate knowledge of its uses. Students will utilize a variety of resources to research money and relate it their life.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: What is money? Why do we need money to live? How much money does it take to live comfortably? How do we get money? What kinds of things do we spend our money on?Objectives: Given play money up to $20, students will use grocery ads, department store sites etc., to pick out wanted purchases staying within the budget guidelines stated and round up to the nearest dollar and pay their peer partner with 80% accuracy. Given choices between the internet, library resources, and text books, students will research money and share their findings with the class with 100% participation as measured by teacher observation. After reading books/articles and completing hands on lessons relating to money, students will engage in discussions about the importance of money and make a collage with pictures cut out of magazine to illustrate the many uses of money with 90%. Given models of story structure, students will write their own story about money and publish it in book form using Kid Pix or some similar publishing tool with 85% accuracy as measured by using rubric standards. Given computer program, “Dollars and Cents: Making Change” the students will complete the tasks of the game with 85% accuracy according to the games progress chart print out. Given their salaries for school attendance, students will deposit their (fake) money into the school bank account and follow budgeting guidelines to pay imaginary bills using fake checks with 90% accuracy as measured by random assignments. Using the deposit slips and check stubs, students will keep a running balance of their checking accounts with 80% accuracy as measured by charting progress on checkbook register samples. After visiting a bank or other lending institution, students will list three things that they learned and share the one thing they found the most interesting by drawing a picture and explaining it to the class with 100% participation measured by obse.</li></ol>

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding? Class discussions will be the focus of daily assessment of understanding. What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding? Probing questions at the beginning of the projects. What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product) will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding? The students will complete projects (collage, deposits and checks, storybook, and grocery buying) that will show their understanding of money and its role in our society. What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect? work samples, discussion, computer progress report print outs, role playing, and observations

Instructional Strategies

Students will use project based learning to explore how money matters to them. They will participate in class discussions, make a poster displaying many uses of money. They will use technology to research a variety of resources about money and write their own fictional story about it using facts that they learned. Students will also get a feel for handling money by making pretend purchases with coins and bills as well as following a budget to make monthly payments towards living expenses generally incurred by people living on their own. Students will explain how, when, where and why money is used by working together in their peer groups to make a finally collaborative project such as a speech, video, poster, book etc.