Procedure
	The actions of students and teachers and the interactions among and between students and teachers:

In this Learning Experience students plan a budget and pay bills when they visit the "Reality Store", a series of classroom learning stations.

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• Overview

1. Money management lessons are taught on the topics of use of credit, savings, check writing, money management principles, consumerism, social service system taxation, and the decision making process. Students are then introduced to the Learning Experience. Teachers can use the Unit Plan: Reality Store as steps for the activity and the Teacher Resource packet.
2. Introduce the Learning Experience and the Reality Store Rubric. Students may offer suggestions to edit the rubric but not create the rubric.
3. Students complete an Envision Your Life Form, predicting their life at age 28, by recording key lifestyle choices concerning marital status, family composition, housing, transportation, and education. It is important to encourage realistic prediction or the students will be disappointed later that they did not make this experience more personally valuable. The teacher keeps the forms to use at a later date so that students do not change information.
4. Savings accumulated for attending class prepared are given to each student by counting the days in class and multiplying by $5. One dollar is subtracted for every unprepared day. Some students will have completed an interest inventory and career project in another subject area and will use that information to make a more exact career choice leading to a more exact income level for them personally.
5. Students sign out checkbooks by number since students sometimes see an opportunity to play and use the checks in the real world. This is a good time to teach about fraud. Students also need to know how to void a check.
6. Assist students in creating a spending plan using the

Checking Account Information and Spreadsheet and Student Reference Packet.

7. Set up the Reality Store with payment booths for each item on the budget. Depending on the size of the room and class, the following setup can be simplified or become more elaborate. I found that each time I ran the project I added more decoration to increase the fun and excitement in the room.

I decorated 10 shoeboxes with a slit in the top for the checks and with a title on the top and side of the box designating the payment(s) to be placed in the box. I placed the boxes around the perimeter of the room on long tables with signs hanging from the ceiling over the tables labeled with the same titles that appeared on the shoe boxes directly below. There were consultants at some of the tables (see below). Stations 2-7 could be consolidated by placing more items in one box to save space. However, the ideal would have been to have a separate box for each of the expense categories. Three stations must have adult consultants, the luxury station needs a person of any age who can keep order.

Table 1: Bank to deposit check for income taxes, student loan, savings, housing. ADULT CONSULTANT necessary to help with loans if needed.

Table 2: Station to deposit food, clothing checks

Table 3: Station to deposit childcare check

Table 4: Station to deposit utilities, cable checks

Table 5: Station to deposit transportation checks for car, gas, bus, etc.

Table 6: Station to deposit insurance checks

Table 7: Station to deposit optional donation check

Table 8: Life Surprises fishpond table to select a life surprise and pay or receive a surprise. ADULT CONSULTANT necessary to monitor selection and pay or receive checks for students as per the surprise.

Table 9: Luxury table with posters, catalogues, newspapers, to buy items. This table should have a consultant to keep order. This needs a larger area since students enjoy looking at what they could buy. If they buy an item, they deposit the payment in a box at the table.

Table 10: Help table. ADULT CONSULTANT necessary to assist students with calculations and financial advice. Calculators, paper, pencils and a math teacher are found at this table.

8. The teacher supervises the general operation of the room. A support person is needed for the help table, fishpond, bank, and auxiliary space for students who finish early and wish to work on the evaluation and reflection. If a student finishes the event in one day he/she may begin the evaluation and reflection. Most students take 1¼ periods but absent and slower students take two periods. Also some average and advanced students make mathematical errors, which takes a second period to correct. Using two days builds in a safety net for unforeseen situations.
9. The guiding questions and the NYS Standards are posted and referred to throughout lessons to help keep the unit focused on the Standards.
10. During the event, situations will arise that were not planned for and the teacher will have to become a financial advisor, helping students see choices. For example, a student may need a loan to pay a medical bill from the fishpond. Sometimes students want loans to buy a product at the luxury table. These are teachable moments on credit and saving. The goal is no loans.

1. Student examine the Occupational Handbook for jobs/careers requiring the following educational requirements before selecting their personal choice for the Envision form.

• High school diploma
• 2 year associate’s degree
• 4 year bachelor’s degree
• +2 years master’s degree
• +3 years law degree/PhD
• +6 years MD, not specialist

2. Students examine utility bills, mortgage statements and real estate ads.
3. Using the Student Reference Packet, students convert the information from the Envision Your Life form to the Student Profile form. Some students may try to change the predictions now that they know that the forms will be used to make purchases. The teacher needs to reinforce the rule not to change the information.
4. Students create a spending plan on the
5. Checking Account Spreadsheet using the Student Profile form and the reference packet with costs for items needed. The reference packet will need to be updated as costs rise and fall. A computer may be used for spreadsheet calculations or students may pencil in the costs and use a calculator to tally amounts.
6. Students write a check to pay for each expense but leave a checkbook until they visit the Reality Store room. The check register is to be completed accurately as well as the information on the spreadsheet form.
7. On the event day, students will enter the Reality Store, a room with payment booths for each item on the budget. They will deposit a check for the amount of the item on the budget. In addition, they will select a "life surprise" ticket indicating an unexpected gift or bill. When all their bills are paid, the students may visit the luxury table to purchase additional items from dinner to a vacation, clothes to electronics. In the event of a lack of funds, students may visit the bank to ask for a loan or they may change some of their flexible bills (ex: car choice) but they may not change the Student Profile. The check register and all forms must be completed properly and balance. A "help" table is provided for math and advice counseling by a volunteer parent.
8. Students turn in the Student Profile, Spreadsheet, Evaluation, Reflection and Rubric. Students circle their score with a pen first and then the teacher uses a marker on the same rubric. Discrepancies are discussed between the student and teacher.

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