Financial Literacy 2.0

Last week, the ASPIRE 6 Math scholars began their financial literacy unit.  First, students learned how to write checks and deposit slips, and how to keep a balanced check register.  They simulated owning a business by advertising a product, writing checks to other students, and recording their deposits and withdrawals.  Next, students learned about the many features that banks offer.  Scholars were given the opportunity to design their own banks, and they created consumer scenarios that required them to identify the better bank.  Next, we visited the difference between credit and debit cards.  After comparing and contrasting their characteristics and analyzing their pros and cons, scholars reviewed financial situations that required them to identify the better card to use.  Finally, the scholars learned about the complex world of credit history, scores, and reports.  After creating three fictional credit profiles, scholars applied for loans, and had them accepted or denied by their loan officer peers.

The scholars were very excited about this unit.  Learning about money seems to be very interesting to them, as they loved hearing about real financial stories from my personal experiences.  Financial literacy is one of the new aspects of the math curriculum that went into effect last year.  It provides students with opportunities to learn about very complicated issues at a young age.  I believe that our students will benefit from this exposure when they begin to make their own consumer decisions in the future.  Hopefully, these lessons will allow them to be informed about the many options they have in the financial world, and to be responsible with their spending power.  I encourage you to have conversations about your own financial experiences with your child.  They are very curious about the topic, and I know they would enjoy hearing your stories.  

Poetry Smash

This week, the ASPIRE 5 scholars have been writing a variety of poems in Language Arts.  One of the more interesting techniques we challenged them with was the poetry smash.  First, Mrs. Fullhart gave them time to browse a large selection of poetry books.  Everything from Emily Dickinson to Shel Silverstein was available.  Scholars were asked to write down lines that stood out to them on colored paper strips, with lines from the same poem on the same color of paper.  Next, they had to arrange the lines into a new poem that made sense.  Scholars were allowed to insert their own lines using white paper strips if they desired.  Of course, students were required to cite all of the authors and poems that were used in their smash.

The results were nothing short of amazing.  Scholars chose many different themes.  Some were clever and witty, while others were dramatic and emotional.  Each poem shared one lyrical quality; if you didn't know any better, you would never know they were taken from multiple sources.  In our opinion, this was a successful assignment for gifted students because it challenged them to synthesize lines from different sources into a new product that connected and flowed.  It required significant research, vision, and creativity to find, arrange, and add lines that fit into the final puzzle.  We were very pleased with their smashes, and the artistic way they put the lines together.  If you would like to see the poems, they will be on display outside our classroom next week.  We hope you enjoy them as much as we have.  Finally, we would like to thank our librarian, Mr. Wahpekeche, for writing a sample smash of poems by Walt Whitman.  It was truly amazing, and it set the tone for the rest of the day.  Thank you for helping our students become better poets!