1. Budgeting Overview
Title – Real Town budgeting to get through the day; paying the bills
Goals - Students will learn how math is used to manage money to budget in real world situations and will
apply it to a given scenario.
Objectives: Students will use VoiceThread software to create an interview with
people of different income levels about their budgets.
Students will use the internet to research household budgets
Students will use Spreadsheet software to create a budget
Students will apply basic math skills to balance a checkbook registry
Students will reflect through journal entry on classroom blog
Rationale:
The students in ninth grade show very little ability in using basic math skills and need to experience how
these skills apply to their families’ lives. These students need to have the opportunity to apply math to
various real life situations. This activity will give students the chance to research and apply math skills
towards a given real life situation in order to enhance their basic math and problem solving skills.
Prerequisites:
Students should be able to perform basic computation with and without a calculator.
Students should have basic knowledge of Excel, the Internet, VoiceThread and other basic computer skills.
Activating Strategy
The students will have completed the first part of this project, choosing a career, researching education
for that career and income expectations based on their level of education for the chosen career found at
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0883617.html. For this part of the project the students will brainstorm
and discuss all the different areas where their parents spend money. They will come up with a list of
questions to ask parents, friends of parents, teachers, business partners and community leaders about
their monthly budgets. The students will then create a voice thread interview about monthly budgeting
and invite people to the interview based on their different levels of education.
Essential Question
How do we use math when preparing a monthly family budget?
Resources needed:
Computers Promethean Board
Microsoft Excel Access to VoiceThread
Sample Checkbook Registry Copy paper
Procedure:
The class will listen to the completed interview and discuss the comments made to the interview
questions. The students will break into small groups based on their chosen careers educational level and
create an outline of how they feel someone in the same educational level spend and saves money in a
monthly budget. Students will use budget percentages from the following websites to determine their
budgets.. http://www.eioba.com/a9036/what_household_budget_percentage_breakdown_is_typical
http://financialplan.about.com/od/budgetin1/f/ExpensePercent.htm

2. Once each group decided on their monthly budget each student will then create an Excel
spreadsheet using percentage and addition/subtraction equations to calculate how much money can be
spent in each area of their budget and an ending balance for the month. To help the students understand
their task they will be asked view a sample budget spreadsheet found at the following websites
http://www.simpleplanning.net/Preview/Budget%20Planner/BBM.html
The calculations found in the spreadsheet will give the students an idea of how much money they can
spend when purchasing a car or a house. How much should be saved for things like entertainment and
vacations.
To practice the basic math skills the students will complete a checkbook register with a beginning balance
of $500. They will deposit a monthly pay check and pay all their bills. Students will be asked to view
deposits as positive numbers and withdrawals as negative numbers. Students will balance by hand first
then check their math with a calculator.
Summarizing Strategy:
Each group of students will presents the budgets for each level of education to the class. Students can
project their Excel Spreadsheet on the Promethean Board and discuss findings from each area of the
budget. Once all educational level budgets have been presented the student will be asked to complete a
journal entry on the classroom blog. Journal Entry: From the VoiceThread interview through the process
of setting up a budget we have learned a good bit about budgets. Once you are out on your own what do
you feel will be the pros and cons to creating and sticking to a monthly budget?
Feedback:
There will be many types of assessments for this project. Informal Assessments will guide this project.
Observations - I will observe for understand of the assignment, on task group discussions, pacing of
activities, and offer the help they need to complete the project.
Performance tasks – The student will complete a Voicethread interview, an Excel spreadsheet, and
calculate a checkbook registry, to show understanding of basic math computations and how they apply to
everyday life.
Rubrics – This will be used for the overall grade and given to students to show what the expectations are
for this project.
Handouts – These will be used to help in keeping information organized and students focused on the
overall outcome.

3. Creating a Budget : Real World Budgeting
Teacher Name: Mr. Lofton
Student Name: ________________________________________
11.25-12.5 Point 10 - 11.12 Points 9.87 - 8.75 Point 8.62 and below Points -
CATEGORY s - 100 - 90% - 89 - 80% s - 79 - 70% 69% or below
Contributions to Participated in the Participated in the Participated in the Listened but did not contributing
Brainstorming brainstorming session brainstorming session brainstorming session any questions, listened or ignored
by contributing several by contributing some by contributing a the discussion over other students
questions, created questions, participated question, listened to the suggestions. Exhibited a negitive
discussion over other in discussion over other discussion over other attitued toward the project.
students suggestions. students suggestions, students suggestions.
Maintained a positive maintained a positive Seemed mildly
attitude toward the attitude toward the interested in the project
project. project.
Contribution to Actively Participated in Participated in creating Passively Participated in Did not participate in creating a
VoiceThread Interview creating a question slide a question slide for the creating a question slide question slide for the VoiceThread
for the VoiceThread VoiceThread interview. for the VoiceThread interview. Exhibited a negative
interview. Maintained a Maintained a positive interview. appeared attitude toward the project.
positive attitude toward attitude toward the uninterested in the
the project. project. project.
Internet Research Visited all the suggested Visited most the Visited some the Did not visit the suggested
websites and copied suggested websites and suggested websites and websites or find usefull infromation
usefull infromation from copied usefull copied a few pieces of to use in the project. Time
the site. Utilized the infromation from the usefull infromation from management was a problem
computer lab time site. Utilized most of the the site. Could have
wisely. computer lab time managed time more
wisely wisely
Group Budget Outlines Worked well with the Worked with the group Passively participated Passively participated or ignored
group to define accurate to define catagories and with the group to define the group while defining catagories
catagories and percentage outlines for catagories and and percentage outlines for montly
reasonable percentage montly budgets. Budget percentage outlines for budgets. Budget is outside
outlines for montly does not exceed montly budgets. Budget reasonalbe limits.
budgets. Budget does maximum percentages. is within reasonable
not exceed maximum limits.
percentages.
Creation of Budget on Created a budget Created a budget Created a budget Produced a budget spreadsheet to
Excel Spread Sheet spreadsheet that is spreadsheet with spreadsheet with some some extent Spreadsheet offers a
organized with accurate accuratea equations. accurate equations. balance
equations. Budget Budget balances Budget balances withing
balances without without exceeding limits of checkbook
exceeding monthy monthy income balance
income
Checkbook Registry Checkbook Registry is Checkbook Registry , Checkbook Registry Checkbook Registry is incomplete
neat, complete and complete and balances complete and but or inaccurate. Balance and budget
balances accuratley closely to the innacuracies create contain vast differences
with the spreadsheet. spreadsheet. differences with the
budget
Budget Presentation Presention was orderly, Presentation contained Presentation Presentation demonstrated little
accurate, and accurate information demonstrated limited knowledge of budgets
demonstrates and demonstrates knowledge of budgets
knowledge of budgets knowledge of budgets
Class Blog Journal Blog entry was Blog entry was Blog entry was Blog entry was gramatically
Entry gramatically correct with gramatically acceptable gramatically acceptable unacceptable or incomplete it
compete detailed with detailed information with detailed information contained little to no information
information about about budgets about budgets about budgets
budgets