 |
  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||
| Reflection | ||||||
| Personal comments on the learning experience: | ||||||
|
 |
|
||||
Comments from Patricia Loncto:
The Reality Store concept was first developed for elementary school children by Gretchen Varney through a VATEA grant in the early 1990’s. With the help of Barbara Gallucci and Gail McMahon, I adapted the activity for the Middle School Home and Career Skills classroom.
My overall goals are to encourage students to stay in school, make wise choices, know the difference between needs and wants, and to recognize the importance of math skills. Because of Home & Career Skills being 13 weeks, interdisciplining with my academic team did not work when I first tried this activity.
The consumer unit is not included in this packet however, the money management unit is included. I use mini-role plays to explain Credit Price Tags with the students being borrowers. I also use student role-plays to show how a check goes from buyer to seller, to bank, and back to buyer. Individual teachers could add or subtract information depending on time allotment. Sometimes I begin the next unit before the Reality Store event, depending on available volunteers.
The Reality Store activity can be chaotic at times. The first time through can be confusing for the teacher. The second time, the teacher can make his/her own rules based on the student composition and personal theory.
The level of excitement for those students with money, and frenzy for those without money, can be felt by everyone in the room. The students take this simulation seriously once they begin to plan the budget. The Reality Store presents students with an age-appropriate, real-life experience to learn home and career skills for their future. The Reality Store could be used as a career assessment but the check writing lessons would be necessary. The Reality Store motivates students to learn.
The best way to see the value in the Reality Store activity is to hear from the students:
"An important factor in applying for a job is education." (Alexis)
"I realized that one little mathematical error can make a big difference in a checkbook." (Kristie)
"When I first started to do the checkbook thing, I thought it was a waste of time, but once I learned how hard it was to do all that stuff, I realized why they were teaching it." (Jerry)
"The thing that surprised me the most was all of the insurance." (Mario)
"I learned I need to take care of bills before I spend all my money on luxuries." (Shane)
"My daughter cost me tons of money, my hand hurts from writing checks, and my budget is not balancing." (Danielle)
"It helped me understand how hard it is to be grown up and have to pay for everything." (Christine)
 |