Learning to Give, Curriculum Division of The LEAGUE
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Purpose:
Duration:
Two to Three Forty-Five Minute Class Periods
Objectives:
The learner will:
- analyze the cost of planning and implementing a service project.
- design a graph or chart to explain the proposed budget for the service project.
Materials:
- Budget Planning: What Will It Cost? (Attachment One)
- Budget Samples (Attachment Two)
- A Weekly Budget (Attachment Three)
- Graph paper
- Colored pencils, crayons, or markers
- Computer programs with graphing capabilities (optional)
Instructional Procedure(s):
- Once students are in the corners of their choice, ask them to come to a group consensus:
"Do you think it would cost anything to create a product from your corner?
(For example: Do you think it would cost anything to make a poster about horses, to sing a song about horses, to find out and report information about horses, or to make math problems related to buying a horse?") Students will discuss this in their groups and share their ideas with the class. - Explain that for some of the corners it would cost more to create a product than others. As a class it would be necessary to distribute funding differently to different corners. Therefore, the class would have to establish a budget. (A budget is the total amount of money allocated for a certain purpose, including both income and expenditures.)
- With students still in their groups for discussion, pose the following questions:
Anticipatory Set:
Tell students they will pick one of four corners in the room to walk to. Post a sign in each corner:
Corner 1 - I like making pictures and drawing.
Corner 2 - I like singing and acting.
Corner 3 - I like finding information or doing research.
Corner 4 - I like dealing with math related to money.
Explain to the students that they should choose a corner that interests them.
- To plan and carry out our service project (planning to help a family after a house fire), do you think it will cost our class anything?
- Where will we get the funding we need to cover any costs?
- What will be the most expensive part of planning and implementing our service project?
- How could we help pay for expenditures?
- How could we conserve our limited resources?
- Together, have students analyze the proposed service project from Lesson Two: Plan of Action to determine the expenditures that may be incurred. The first portion of Budget Planning: What Will It Cost? (see Attachment One) will provide a guide for completing this activity.
- Using the information from the worksheet just completed, determine how much the service project will cost the class. (It will probably be approximately $10-20 for materials, printing costs, mailings, etc. Many people will donate items for a good cause or give discount rates for services.) Itemize the cost of all the expenditures, (e.g., paper for posters: $3; printing of fliers: $4; mailing thank you notes: $2; envelopes for collecting money donations: $2).
- After the expenditures have been estimated, the class can decide on how to earn an "income" to cover the costs. Have students share their ideas recorded on the last part of Budget Planning: What Will It Cost? (see Attachment One). Student ideas may include: each will donate 50¢, collect soda cans, bring in pennies, etc.
- Show students how to create a bar graph or pie chart for the service project budget. See Budget Samples (Attachment Two). Have them complete one for their class project.
- Display the graphs of the service project budget.
Assessment:
Students will create a graph or chart of the class' service project budget. Award one point for the labels on the graph, one point for correctly charting/graphing the budget, and one point for identifying the class income.
School/Home Connection:
Students will make a chart or graph showing a typical weekly household budget. See A Weekly Budget (Attachment Three).
Extension:
Research the budgets of nonprofit organizations. Use the Web site www.guidestar.org to find local nonprofits and their annual budgets.
Bibliographical References:
Lewis, Barbara A. The Kid's Guide to Social Action. Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing, 1991.
Lesson Developed and Piloted by:
Christel HomrichForest Hills Public Schools
Thornapple Elementary School
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Handouts:
Handout 1Print Handout 1
Budget Planning: What Will It Cost?
Advertising is an important part of raising funds or gathering resources for our service project. Think about different ways to advertise and how much it will cost. Put a star by the advertising idea you think would be most effective and cost efficient. The least expensive advertising may not be the most effective. Likewise, the most expensive advertising may not be the most effective.
Type of Advertisement Projected Cost
Collecting and Delivering Funds and Resources: The goal of our service project is to help a family in our community by raising money and/or collecting resources. Will it cost anything to raise money and keep it in a safe place? Will it cost anything to collect donated resources and deliver the goods?
Type of Resource Projected Cost
Other: List other things that our class may have to pay for as we plan and develop our service project. Also include the projected cost.
Other Factors Projected Cost
Brainstorm five ideas that would help us earn a classroom "income" to offset some of these expenditures. Remember, our goal is to give as much money as possible to the family in need and keep the cost of the project as small as possible.
Handout 2Print Handout 2
Budget Samples
Sample 1
Expenditures will have a total cost of $10
Itemized list:
- Mailings = $2
- Poster board = $3
- New box of markers = $3
- Discounted printing cost of fliers = $2
Income will be $9, if every student donates 50¢
Our expenditures are greater than our income by $1. We will need to "earn" another dollar of class "income."
Sample 2
Expenditures will have a total cost of $10
Itemized list:
- Mailings = $2
- Poster board = $3
- New box of markers = $3
- Discounted printing cost of fliers = $2
Income will be $11, if the class collects 110 soda cans.
Our expenditures are less than our income by $1. We can donate the extra dollar to the service project fund or save it for unexpected costs.
Handout 3Print Handout 3
A Weekly Budget
In class we are planning a budget for a service project. We consider the costs for materials to advertise our project, printing charges to make fliers, postage for mailings, and other factors. To offset some of the costs we decided to earn a classroom "income." This activity is a real world experience for the students. Each student is assigned to chart and graph a weekly household budget. This is an opportunity to work together and discuss a household budget. As a household, you may decide to use actual or estimated expenditures and incomes. Use the chart below as a guide before graphing your budget.
Activity Cost Income Job/work Food House (heat, water, mortgage, etc.) Clothing Entertainment Transportation Donations (church, nonprofit charity) Memberships Other: Please graph the household budget on the back of this paper. Sample graph below.
Unit Contents:
Overview:Raising Resources Summary
Lessons:
- 1.
- We Need More than Money
- 2.
- Plan of Action
- 3.
- How Much Will This Cost?
- 4.
- FUNdraising Goal
- 5.
- Nonprofits Compete
All rights reserved. Permission is granted to freely use this information for nonprofit (noncommercial), educational purposes only. Copyright must be acknowledged on all copies.
Comments
Discussion of a budget was an important concept to learn about. Having them working together to decide if the project would cost money to advertise was good.
I liked how the lesson involved the students working in a cooperative group to try to come up with ways to advertise their service project and if it would cost them anything to do it. Talking about what budget means was an important concept for them to learn.