Category: Consumerism

Salary to Budget Hyperdoc

We all know that to manage our finances effectively, it helps to have a plan…aka budget.  With that being said, many high school students and young adults have no idea how to do this. If you teach any courses, classes or units that include adulting or financial literacy, this Salary to Budget Hyperdoc is a must to get them ready for life!  Initially, the hyperdoc puts the learning in the hands of the students as they independently work through the basics about budgets before applying what they’ve learned in a simulated budget, paper plate visual project, using a randomly assigned occupation and salary. Learn more as you continue reading.

Sustainability Case Study: The Wasteful Watts

Whether we want to admit it or not, we’re all guilty of being wasteful in some area of our lives!  In this Sustainability Case Study: The Wasteful Watts, students will explore ways the Watts family can make changes in their habits and lifestyle to be more eco-friendly, practice being green(er) and make better choices regarding sustainability!

Babies & Microplastics

Parents today have a lot of things to be concerned about when it comes to keeping their children safe. One of the latest safety concerns is around microplastics. After reading about this topic, I immediately thought that Babies & Microplastics would be a relevant lesson to include when teaching about infant and toddler safety in child development, parenting or even health classes.

6-1 Grocery Shopping Method

The 6-1 Grocery Shopping Method is a simple, effective way to ensure balanced and nutritious meals while managing your budget, especially with rising food prices! It’s a flexible system that works for both families and individuals, reducing time spent in the grocery store and helping you spend less while still making healthy choices. Read on to see how you can use this to your students.

Calculating Baby Costs

As I was going through some files, I came across an assignment I created that incorporated math skills for Calculating Baby Costs. Since the prices were a bit outdated, I decided to update it and share it with you. It can be a real eye-opener for students into the reality of what consumables cost for babies. Additionally, they see a real life example of where they will use and apply math skills in life!

Make Your Own Series: BISQUICK

I don’t know about you, but I love making my own mixes for products that are conveniently made for us and sold at big box stores. Some reasons I like to make
my own are they are generally cheaper, quantities needed can be easily adjusted based on the recipe, it can be made easily by students as part of a lab and then used in future labs and most importantly….I know exactly what is in the product!  No weird, unpronounceable ingredients! So in this Make Your Own Series, I’ll be sharing products that can easily be made from scratch, using basic, common ingredients. In this Make Your Own Series: Bisquick is the first mix I’ll be sharing.

Which Bag is Best?

Earth Day is right around the corner and if you’re in need of a lesson and activity around sustainability, then you definitely want to check out “Which Bag is Best?”. In this lesson, students explore various types of bags and then use their critical thinking skills and the decision making model to make an informed decision. Additionally, students will make an earth-friendly repurposed bag from a t-shirt in class that can be used for their gym clothes or shopping.  Don’t have sewing machines?  Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!

Regifting: A Talking Points Lesson

Who hasn’t received a gift that simply “wasn’t you” and needed a gift, but didn’t have time to go to the store so you ended up giving that “unyou” gift to someone else? This
is called regifting and the concept became popular during the 1990’s in a Seinfeld episode, although I imagine it began long before then! This Regifting: A Talking Points Lesson explores this controversial concept in a variety of ways! It’s the perfect time of year to give it a try!

Talking Points: Cost Per Serving vs Price Per Pound

If you teach lessons on different meats or you teach about shopping and consumer skills or you teach both, this Talking Points: Cost per Serving vs Price per Pound activity may be a good option for you. This activity could easily be incorporated as a stand alone lesson or an extension activity or even a sub plan when you know you will be out, but want students to have a meaningful assignment.

On Your Own: Investigating Streaming Services

Television is so different today compared to when I was young!  Back in the day, we had one tv that got three major network channels and one PBS station for free. Cable was available in certain areas (not rural) at a cost. Television services have come a long way!  Now, there are so many options to choose from and being able to sort it all out requires some level of comparison and analysis.  This On Your Own: Investigating Streaming Services project requires students to do just that given specific budget parameters. This real world activity shows what many of them take for granted because their parents are paying the bill and they have no idea what’s involved!