What's included
12 live meetings
10 in-class hoursHomework
1 hour per week. includedAssessment
Students will have projects related to each class topic that we will start in class. Each student will work at their level and if accommodations or adjustments are needed please let me know and work will be adjusted accordingly. While projects are assigned weekly they will only be graded at the end. This allows time for students to get help on anything they need.Grading
The final projects can be graded or not based on student/parent choice. Every student can succeed in this class and participate at their level.Class Experience
US Grade 9 - 12
In this 12-week personal finance class High School students will learn. During each class we will cover different topics including: Credit scores, investments, banking, budgets, and more. Students will create a portfolio as a final project that is a compilation of each of the smaller projects from each week. Students of all abilities are able to be successful in this class. Class set up: Welcome - Warm up Topic - Slides, short videos, and discussions are used to explain topics and sample projects. Project - Each class has a hands-on project that each student will start in class and finish as homework. Wrap-Up - Q&A
Learning Goals
Students will increase their understanding of personal finance topics.
Syllabus
12 Lessons
over 12 WeeksLesson 1:
Job and Wages
Students will compare 3 job salaries and education requirements for each. They will need to do a cost benefit analysis then select one. This will be the salary they will use for the remainder of the class for all projects.
50 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
New Hire
Students will fill out tax forms, compare benefits packages, and select the one they choose to go with.
50 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Credit Score
Students will learn about credit scores and how the score is affected and the costs associated with a good and bad score.
50 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Investments
Students will learn about investments stocks, bonds, CD’s, and mutual funds.
50 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Supply List
All materials needed for will be uploaded to the classroom in PDF or docs format.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Teacher expertise and credentials
Bachelor's Degree from Northwood University
I have worked in education for over 15 years, the last 9 as a homeschool parent. My passion is helping students create a deeper understanding of complex material by examining different perspectives. The stories that are told matter, even more in today's world. Understanding another perspective and story can help us relate. I love sharing new diverse literature that is engaging and expands students' understanding. History can come alive using both novels and primary source materials in my classes. When examining history there are many factors that we will discuss including socioeconomic, religious, bias in narration and understanding who the narrator is. Critical thinking is a skill that all students will work on, while we engage in discussions about the topics covered students will be questioned to consider different perspectives and reasons for events or choices.
I have taught at a local homeschool co-op for over 7 years (in person and online) During that time one of my favorite classes has been running the middle and high school book clubs. Beside introducing books to students; I have been facilitating the discussions around difficult topics. I have attended many teacher professional developments over the years focusing on how to handle these difficult topics with sensitivity and care.
I started my schooling with a B.B.A. from Northwood University. After several years in the corporate climate I decided to go back to school to get a teaching degree. I attended Eastern Michigan University and finished my classes and testing required for the teaching degree. The semester I was to start student teaching one of my children became seriously ill. Once they were recovered I was starting to homeschool my children and never went back to finish the program.
While I have taught at several homeschool groups and co-ops. My experience at the high school has focused on several topics: English, History, Finance, and Engineering. With my love of books I ran the middle and high school book clubs for over 5 years. During this time I have also taught classes on essay writing, short stories, grammar and mechanics of writing and novel analysis. I ran the book club and novel analysis class together exploring a new book each month. The class was split into two, one with a middle grade selection and one with a YA book selection. I worked hard to select new books that were diverse, own voices, and covered many genres.(24 books a year) I facilitated discussions about the books we read. This included plot, themes, symbolism, character development, and more. My students have also participated in NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo.
I created the Literature through film series at the request of students. While we were reading excellent books and engaging with the primary source material. Students, especially my reluctant or slow readers, wanted to learn about the "classics" without giving up the book club. Some of these students had just started to enjoy reading or couldn't complete 2 novels a month. By using film students were exposed to 14 book-to-film adaptations in one semester. We were able to still discuss all the major elements of our novel analysis. I used passages from the text to discuss unique grammar usage. Some students enjoyed it so much they even read a book or two after watching the movies.
With my History classes I use a combination of primary sources, articles, reference materials, and videos to teach students. I teach students to evaluate the bias of the author, the purpose of the piece of writing, and who's points of views are put forth. We were often trying to look at marginalized peoples stories that may not always be highlighted. I have taught both Howard Zinn's History for Young People, Big History Project, and History through film.
The classes I taught under Finance, Entrepreneurship and Accounting. While covering the topics themselves I find that students do well with hands-on application of studies. For example my Finance class besides learning the basics of finance. Students researched careers, living locations, wages, housing expenses, job growth or decline projections in the area of their chosen field and living location. With that information they made a budget, calculated mortgage rates, loan interest rates, amount of student loan debt they anticipated and payment schedules. They considered the impact of credit scores and of credit card debt at different interest rates. We also did a class long mock investment tracking, investments over time, and retirement series.
I have continued to attend teacher professional developments including:
EdCamp - EMU
NerdCamp - Parma
NaNoWriMo - Online, and local events
Others offered at EMU and MSU
Reviews
Live Group Course
$15
weekly or $175 for 12 classes1x per week, 12 weeks
50 min
Completed by 1 learner
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-18
3-12 learners per class