RichKidSmartKid

You can find the curricula for this site at:

http://www.richkidsmartkid.com/

Curriculum Exemplar: RichKidSmartKid

Summary

The Rich Dad mission is one of education and empowerment. Knowledge is power and the Rich Dad Organization is committed to improving the awareness of and opportunities for improved financial literacy for adults and children around the world.

The Foundation for Financial Literacy is a part of this mission. This foundation was created to support educational, charitable, religious and scientific programs and organizations that utilize financial education to teach the difference between earned, passive and portfolio income and educate individuals to convert earned income into passive and portfolio income. The Foundation's mission reflects that of the Rich Dad Organization: to elevate the financial well-being of humanity.

The curriculum for RichKidSmartKid is one designed to elevate the creative and academic aptitude of children throughout the world। Their curriculum teaches life lessons for student of all ages. Their lessons are designed to reach students at four distinct levels: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and High School. The lessons all come with lesson plans for teachers to use as the students engage the automated RichDad games. This is an excellent tool for teachers to teach students higher level learning skills while teaching them to think critically.

Lesson Plan

Rich Kid Smart Kid GamesGame One: Jesse's Ice Cream StandTopic: ProfitGrade Level: K-2

>>Download Full Lesson Plan and Materials (PDF)

Interactive Internet Game Activity:

Jesse is ready to open an ice cream stand and wants to sell his ice cream to earn money. An animated dialog between Jesse and his good friend Toki will introduce students to the game. Students must then help Jesse to make a profit by selecting the best of three possible ice cream scoopers.

Learning Objectives

Understand the concept of profit
Use money to count by 10's
Compare costs to sales

Assessments
Students will:1) estimate the number of scoops of ice cream needed to make a profit2) calculate total sales of ice cream cones3) determine the amount of profit when shown the total cost of ice cream vs. the total sales of scoops

Classroom Activities
1. Jesse & Toki at the Ice Cream Stand - A cute script of Jesse and Toki discussing the ice cream stand and how Jesse can make a profit. Read to class to give students a brief overview of the concept of profit. 2. Counting Your Moola Berry Ice Cream Money - A valuable money counting activity. Make copies of this activity for each student. Read the instructions to the class. Every student should cut out each of the coins at the bottom of the page and paste one coin in the box for each scoop of ice cream on the ice cream cones. Students should then count the coins by 10's to determine the total amount of money collected. 3. Counting Your Moola Berry Ice Cream Profits - A class activity to get everyone involved. Make part of your classroom floor into an income statement by marking off a square area with masking tape then dividing it in half. The left side will represent the expense or cost side and the right side will represent the income or revenue side. Make enough copies of the big 10 cent coins so that each student has one coin and you have several of your own. Review the concept of profit. Then place a number of coins (maybe 10) on the left side representing the amount of money the business must pay for the ice cream. Ask each student to place their coin on the right side representing the amount of money for each scoop of ice cream sold. Have students compare two sides to determine how much money is profit. Change the amount of coins on the left side and repeat the process.
Class Discussion QuestionsWhat is profit?Why is profit important?What would happen if Jesse didn't make a profit?Why do profits go up and down?Do you think that Jesse can turn his stand into a big business?

(Charts and activity sheets continue in the downloadable PDF file above.)

Related Article

Teaching Young People About money

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/library/youngpeopleandmoney/

Teaching With Blogs

The “Teaching with Blogs” website on wiki is a great idea. It gives teachers and students alike a platform to share opinions and discuss important and not so important ideas with people all over the world. It also shows the creativity of the instructors and the academic freedom it gives to students. Instruction in this manner can most definitely make learning fun for students. This was truly evident throughout the blogs posted by several secondary school teachers, programs, and groups from across the country.

Until I reviewed several of the blogs posted under the Safe and Responsible Bloggings, I did not even consider child safety or “blog etiquette.” Safety is a major concerns for parents when it come to their children, especially considering the issues families have face all over the world concerning child predators who utilize the Internet to carryout their sickening acts. I noticed on one link (Blogging Safety and Etiquette Contract) that the teacher had a contract that the students must abide by or loose their blogging privileges. I believe that’s a great way to help relieve some of the tensions that some parents were having concerning their children using the Internet at school. There is no sure fire way to ensure the safety of our children over the Internet. However, if there are some guidelines in place, at least, we know that some provisions have been made to minimize the likelihood of students encountering any predators online.

Technology Interviews: Students' Perspectives on the Use of Technology within the Classroom

In an ideal setting, students using technology to communicate with others generally are in an active role rather than a passive, recipient role, because they are actively thinking about information and are making choices in ways usually not practiced in typical teacher-led instruction. Subsequently, the role of the student changes, because they perform authentic tasks, define their goals, make decisions, and evaluate their progress as they utilize technology during the teaching-learning exchange. The role of the teacher also changes. The teacher no longer is the center of instruction. The teacher in this event becomes a facilitator who sets project goals, provides curriculum guidelines and resources, and moves students toward desired learning outcomes. Ultimately, learning maintains the same purpose; preparing the learner to meet the desired outcome of the instruction. However, the roles of the learner and instructor change slightly.

Considering the thoughts above, three college-level students were interviewed to give their perspective on the use of technology within the classroom. Two of the students interviewed were males and one was a female. One of the male students was a senior majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication. The second male student was a sophomore majoring in Political Science. The other student was a freshman female majoring in Biology.

They all shared different opinions as it related to technology used during instruction. These students were asked three pertinent questions: 1. How often do your instructors use technology during instruction? 2. What is your opinion relative to how effectively technology is used within the classroom? 3. Do you believe technology should be used more or less during instruction?

The senior JOMC major was disappointed in the way teachers use technology within classrooms, especially considering that most classes are Smart Classrooms. In his perspective, the instructors do not use technology often during instruction. He stated that they barely use PowerPoint within their classes. He further stated that the teachers who use technology (PowerPoint) within the classroom are not very effective. He went on to say that some instructors discourage students from bringing laptops to class. He found this disturbing seeing the University gives students in the Honors Program free laptops for use within and outside of class. He suggests that instructors should increase the use of technology within the classroom, even if just basic usage.

The female freshman student had a different perspective relative to the use of technology within the classroom. She stated that most of her instructors lecture with PowerPoint presentations. She also stated that her Critical Writing professor require that they turn their assignments into http://www.turnitin.com/. That same instructor also used Web Assign on Blackboard to present assignments to his or her students. She stated that one instructor uses a clicker to take attendance in larger courses. She stated that she prefers that her instruction used a mixed-method mode of instruction, because she prefers that her instructors use “half-and-half” instruction. One thing she stated relative to instructors who use technology is that they reduce the number of slides that they use during PowerPoint presentations.

The third student interview, a male sophomore majoring in Political Science, stated that his instructors generally use traditional methods of instructions. He stated that technology is not used much during class instruction, but it is mostly required to complete assignments such as major research papers. He believes the reason this is the case is because the classrooms they used were not Smart Classrooms like those in the Journalism and Mass Communications building. Another reason he stated that teachers may not use technology probably is because his instructors are older instructors who may be uncomfortable using technology.