Ms. Dauparas, Ms. Olsen, Mr. Sobczak, Ms.

Weil

ED 398 Critical Literacy Invitation

Fall 2021

Butler University

Financial Literacy
Theme: The theme of this invitation is financial literacy. Students will be introduced to real life scenarios
that many Americans face daily regarding finances.

Rationale: We believe that financial literacy is very important at all points of life, and that people do not
know and/or understand enough about all that goes into finances. This invitation is for junior high
students who will be entering high school and starting to get jobs in the near future. The invitations are
to support students throughout their lives and help them to gain a better grasp of personal finances and
money.

Essential Questions:

• How does knowing financial literacy help one’s life?

• Is it always easy to budget? What are some of the difficulties that can occur?
• What hardships do people face when it comes to finances?
• Has this changed the way you view people in poverty, your own life, your parents, or finances in
general? How so?
• To what extent is financial security within an individual’s control?

4 Critical Literacy Quadrants:

Disrupt The Multiple Sociopolitical Taking Action

Common Place Viewpoints
Gateway This invitation We address the In addressing the We address
Invitation disrupts the multiple sociopolitical “taking action” in
common place viewpoints quadrant, the our discussion
because it has quadrant by game we begin that takes place
students structuring the the lesson with, after the activity.
challenge the idea activity in “Spent,” requires The questions we
of the American different students to ask prompt
dream. The scenarios. This manage difficult students to reflect
scenarios we allows students to decisions and see on how the
provide for the step into the firsthand the activity made
students show shoes of someone power money has them feel, what
them a reality they likely cannot on their living they found
that does not relate to, and, in a circumstances challenging, and
necessarily reflect way, experience and enjoyment of how they want to
the idea that hard the difficulties life, and the respond. Since
work equates to and hardships specific scenarios the lesson was all
success and that others builds on this about budgeting
financial encounter. At the idea. Students will and financial
prosperity. end of the come out of this literacy, the
Instead, students activity, the class lesson students will have
are thrown into comes together to questioning: practiced practical
harsh realities discuss, and Should money ways of managing
that reflect real students from have this much money, that will
struggles that different power over our make them more
many Americans scenarios can lives? How many
 face daily. Most share the people in our equipped for real
students wont circumstances in society/communit life finances.
exactly be able to their specific y do not have a Our discussion
relate to the situation, so that livable income, question asking,
scenario they the whole class and what defines “what have you
receive and will can learn about all a livable income? learned for your
have to navigate the different This gets students own life?” helps
difficult experiences. to question the students to think
circumstances way that our about what they
and make hard society is can do differently
choices. currently, and if in life and in the
there might be a future as a result
more equitable of this lesson.
way to ensure
financial freedom
for more people.
Instructional Minimum wage at This invitation To address the For the taking
Engagement 1- its passing was begins with sociopolitical action quadrant
The Living Wage created to students watching quadrant, of critical literacy,
enforce, require a YouTube video students will we are dedicating
employers to about the current explore a career’s the final
provide livable debate about hourly wage and discussion
wages for their minimum wage. see if they can question to what
employees. Over In the video, the afford typical actions students
time, we have creator uses everyday can take in order
statistically seen various articles expenses. to provide every
an increase in and clips from Students will person
inflation with not different news discuss why they accessibility to a
so much an networks. Along think politicians living wage once
increase in the with the cannot agree so they hit the work
minimum wage. introductory such an issue as force. Students
This invitation YouTube video, the living wage. discuss the given
questions the students all Students will definition of
students if they choose their own discuss if they minimum wage
believe that unique careers believe there are and the specific
minimum wage that either they any careers that word of statute,
should be the want to be when their classmates push students to
living wage like it they grow up or that were understand that
once was or if it one, they find underpaid and minimum wage is
should not be. interesting. Not overpaid. a legal issue that
This invitation everyone is going can only be
also introduces to get the same changed by
ways of using results, which will voting. The goal
math in real- make the class for students from
world discussion about this invitation is to
circumstances our numbers very understand that
that’s purpose is interesting. wages have not
to disrupt the risen equivalently
 common with inflation over
mathematics time.
curriculum.
Instructional Having a constant This invitation Regarding the For the taking
Engagement 2- and reliable addresses the sociopolitical action quadrant,
The Best Deal supply of food multiple quadrant, this this invitation
and groceries is viewpoints activity gets challenges
often taken for quadrant by students to students to think
granted. This essentially placing consider the of what could be
activity serves to students into a realities of various done to change
disrupt this scenario where people in our this reality of
assumption that, they must society who face financial difficulty
at all times, determine the challenges daily in to the point of
everyone has the cheapest food areas that we struggling to pay
means to get options due to a tend to take for for groceries.
whatever they lack of money. granted, such as Students are
want from The discussion food. This asked to think of
whatever grocery questions invitation allows situations where
store they decide following the them to practice this reality would
to shop at. As the activity help to making decisions apply, and
students will dive deeper, by they may have question what
learn, some getting students never considered aspects of society
families and to inquire about having to make need to be
individuals must why some people previously. The different to create
be very would still choose discussion more equitable
thoughtful and the more questions serve to living. The
intentional when expensive option, help students to gateway invitation
deciding where to even though they reflect on what it will be a good
shop and must don’t have a lot of would be like to precursor to this
make difficult money to spend, have to worry activity.
decisions on what and determine about grocery
food is really which foods are money in real life,
necessary. necessary. All of and to question
this contributes to why it is that
a deeper some people are
understanding of in these
the choices that situations.
people of
different
backgrounds must
make.
Instructional This invitation Students will be The government From this
Engagement 3- revolves around given two ways to passes bills and invitation,
Millions, Billions, the idea of money look at millions, acts as one of students can go
Trillions, & and how big an billions, and their formal roles, forth with their
Government Acts amount really is trillions values to and everyone life knowing how
because a lot of put in perspective thinks that the to read a bill and
people do not how big that government act and analyze
 blink when the value really is. passes bills and who the
government says And throughout acts to help government is
they spent a the invitation, civilians, this helping with the
trillion or million students will be invitation makes legislation they
dollars on looking at students examine pass. They can
something. different bills and whether this is utilize this
Therefore, this acts, they will true for information in the
invitation makes share what they themselves. It future, when they
students see that found on the bills gives students the start voting and
value is way and acts with experience of really getting
bigger than they their classmates being able to read involved in the
think. to inform them bills and acts and world and when
about them. They be critical of they get jobs,
will also be them. families, and their
sharing their own finances to
opinions on bills worry about.
and acts and why
they think it is
important.
Students will be
able to learn from
their peers’
opinions and
views.

Gateway Activity--Spent

This engagement helps students to comprehend financial insecurity and many of the factors that go into
budgeting. We will begin the lesson playing the online computer game called “Spent,” which simulates
possible life choices for low-income households. It has the player choose a healthcare package, a job,
and make a variety of decisions each “day” for a month on how they will spend their money. There are
many difficult decisions that the player is asked to make, having to do with choosing financial stability
over social life, your children’s wellbeing, etc. The idea is that players will not even be able to make it
through a month on the limited money they have, exposing the harsh realities that many Americans face
financially. After the game, students will get into groups and be assigned specific scenarios that have
them dive deeper into the math that goes into budgeting. Each scenario involves different perspectives,
life situations, decisions that need to be made, and math problems that coincide with various math
standards. Once the groups complete the tasks of their scenarios, the class will come together and
discuss the implications and reflect on the activity.

Instructional Engagement 1-- The Living Wage

This engagement has students answer many questions about what minimum wage is and why it has
been such an increasingly present issue in political debates. This invitation focused around seventh
grade Indiana mathematics standards ask students to pick a professional career and the average hourly
salary for that career in Indiana. Before choosing their careers, students will watch the YouTube video
explaining the minimum wage debate and the background behind its creation. Students will then
represent their career’s hourly wage with a linear equation as well as graph this representation. After
students discuss their graphs with their groups, students will be given a chart of average expenses from
the Indiana Wage Calculation. They will be given time to estimate how many hours a week they would
need to work in order to afford them. Students will all ultimately have many different answers to each
calculation which will bring the class discussion allowing for multiple different perspectives to become
visible.

Instructional Engagement 2--The Best Deal

This engagement has students explore the idea of comparing prices when shopping, using unit rates. In
the same groups that they were in for the gateway invitation, students will go through a grocery list and
determine the best deal for each item. The idea is that they will gain an understanding of how much
groceries can vary in cost depending on where you shop. This activity is a continuation of the concepts
that they engaged in in the gateway invitation, but instead of looking at all the different factors of
monthly finances, it is focused singularly on the expenses of groceries. Students will come out of the
lesson having a deeper understanding of how certain financial circumstances can cause people to have
to make tough decisions about how much food they can buy and where they are able to shop to buy it.

Instructional Engagement 3--Millions, Billions, Trillions, & Government Acts

This engagement is about students understanding the difference between the millions, trillions, and
billions because all of them are big numbers, but people do not realize the difference between the
three. Therefore, students will see how long it takes to count to each value to better understand the
difference. Then with this information in mind, students will get into the same groups of the gateway
activity to study 3 different spending acts passed by the government and look at the relevance the acts
had on their lives or their life in the gateway invitation. They will also calculate if the spending act would
be paid off today if they counted to that number from when they passed that bill. Throughout the
actvity, students will be asked questions connecting back to their lives in the gateway invitation and how
these bills impact different people. After this invitation, students will look at millions, trillions, and
billions, of dollars differently, especially when the government talks about sending bills, and students
will be able to analyze government bills for their future selves.

*Note: access each invitation through the linked titles

Critical Pedagogy Orientation/Diverse Learners Support:

This invitation reflects a critical pedagogy orientation that values, welcomes, supports, and
engages diverse learners in a variety of ways. To start, we have structured the activities to be done in
heterogeneous groups, because, as Learning for Justice states, “Working in small groups can help
students achieve collaborative goals, deepen their understanding and foster intergroup relationships.
Classmates pool their knowledge and skills, answer one another’s questions and solve problems as a
team. When done well, this practice crosses lines of social identity and academic achievement, supports
equitable access to content knowledge and broadens participation” (Instruction, 2013). Specifically,
regarding English language learners, “EL students need frequent opportunities to interact with native
English speakers and to read/write in English. Working in small native language groups most of the time
will not provide enough engagement with academic English” (Brooks & Karathanos, 2009). Thus, by
grouping students heterogeneously, ELLs will receive the space and freedom to practice speaking English
in a safe and comfortable setting.

Our activities focus on the idea that people have experiences and challenges that many of us
may not think about or be aware of. While we don’t explicitly discuss race as a factor in the variance of
financial freedom that our activities focus on, Buchanan-Rivera’s comments are just as applicable for our
lesson, “If we can acknowledge that people have different experiences within the same community, we
can be cognizant of the power structures that create variance within students' school experiences”
(Buchanan-Rivera). As a part of our discussion, we ask students to question and ponder the current
power structures and discuss what could and should be different. This acknowledges the students in the
class who have been impacted by inequitable power structures. Another aspect of our lesson that
recognizes diverse learners is the differentiated aspect of our instruction and activities. Learning for
Justice states, “Rather than bringing a ‘one size fits all’ mentality to curriculum and learning, teachers
who practice differentiated instruction vary and adapt their strategies to fit individual student needs,
backgrounds, skill levels, talents and learning profiles. This approach actively honors and addresses
student diversity” (Instruction, 2013). We include a game, group work, class discussions, videos, images,
TikToks, research based learning, and various other internet resources to help students grasp the
concepts and ideas of this lesson through multiple modalities and learning styles.

Additionally, to specifically support ELL students, we ensured that every video we show has
subtitles, that copies of the handouts are provided in each students’ native language (scenario sheets,
grocery list, instructions for each activity, etc.), that ELL students can work with partners when playing
the online game “Spent,” and that a bilingual paraprofessional is present and providing additional aid in
the native language to any student who needs it. The choice to include first language resources is due to
Brooks & Karathanos’s article, which states, “EL students need as much native language support as a
school and teacher can provide…teachers can encourage EL students to use their native languages for
academic purposes in small collaborative groups; enlist parent support in developing native language
literacy in the home; support EL student use of native language learning logs; and provide instructional
materials, environmental print, and reading materials in the native languages of their EL
students”(Brooks, K., & Karathanos, K., 2009). Lastly, we worked to engage students in our lesson by
creating activities that are relevant and interesting to the students’ lives. As Learning for Justice says,
“It’s important to help students connect what they learn to their lives and to the world around them.
Research has shown that meaningful connections between learning and real life promote student
engagement, positive identity development and achievement” (Instruction, 2013).

Brooks, K., & Karathanos, K. (2009). Promising Practices Building on the Cultural and Linguistic Capital of
English Learner (EL) Students. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ858589.pdf

Buchanan-Rivera. (2019). Identity-Affirming Schools Need Race-Conscious Educators. (n.d.). ASCD.

Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/identity-affirming-schools-
need-race-conscious-educators

Instruction. (2013, November 19). Learning for Justice.

https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/publications/critical-practices-for-antibias-
education/instruction
Annotated bibliography/list of resources that represent different cultures and multiple points of view:

CareerOneStop. (2015, June 23). Salary finder. CareerOneStop. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from
https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Wages/find-salary.aspx.

This website allows students to explore any career you can possibly think of and in return get back the
career’s Indiana average hourly wage. It is important to the overall invitation because of the
accessibility as well as making the possible choices much more of a variety rather than giving a list.

Difference Between 1 Million, Billion, Trillion TikTok by Trumedia. (2021, December 1). YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVkb3kg8nVc
This is a TikTok regarding the difference of million, billion, trillion dollars. TikTok is a social media
platform used by many adolescents today. This TikTok is very informational for students. It shows how
long it will take to count to each value to show that there is a vast difference to each, and that they
aren't just large numbers.
Living wage calculator. Living Wage Calculator - Living Wage Calculation for Indiana. (n.d.). Retrieved
December 8, 2021, from https://livingwage.mit.edu/states/18.

This resource includes statistics of the average cost of many different types of expenses as well as
illustrating them in a chart. Students will use this to explore working hours and the time it takes to
afford typical expenses.

100 Million and Counting: A Portrait of Economic Insecurity in the United States | PolicyLink. (n.d.).
www.policylink.org. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from
https://www.policylink.org/sites/default/files/100m_Portrait_2pgr_11-21-18.pdf.

This is a link to a document that summarizes the economic insecurity in the US. It highlights the amount
of people who are working regularly, but still not earning enough to make ends meet. It also goes into
demographic information about who is economically insecure, as well as statistics about how many
people do not own a car, and the frequency and impact of housing-cost burdened households.

SPENT. (2019). Playspent.org. http://playspent.org/

This is a game that simulates possible life choices for low-income households. It has the player choose a
healthcare package, a job, and make a variety of decisions each “day” for a month on how they will
spend their money. There are many difficult decisions that the player is asked to make, having to do
with choosing financial stability over social life, your children’s wellbeing, etc. The idea is that players
will not even be able to make it through a month on the limited money they have, exposing the harsh
realities that many Americans face financially.

The minimum wage debate explained - youtube. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2021, from The Minimum
Wage Debate Explained

This 15-minute video gives students a background about the creation of minimum wage, its original
purpose, and finally what it has become now. This video’s primary purpose is for the education and
multiple perspectives aspect of the invitation.