Clear Lake third-graders got some practical knowledge when sophomore Alex Schultz and seniors Savannah Fullmer and Olivia Hale spent four weeks teaching them about financial literacy as a part of their marketing research project for DECA.
‘The lessons consisted of saving and spending, money knowledge such as coins and bills, budgeting, and credit, interest, and sales tax,? Schultz said.
In order to test the knowledge gained in the four weeks, the high school students held a Financial Literacy Jeopardy tournament between teachers Kerry Gettler and Melanie Royster’s third grade classrooms, where the winners would receive a pizza party.
The categories for the Jeopardy game were: ‘Coins; who is on them?? which questioned the students knowledge of coin value, picture, and presidents; ‘Story Problems? which consisted of real life scenarios where the students had to calculate money earned; ‘What is that name?? which asked financial definitions and names of coins; ‘Save or spend?? which gave the students situations of saving or spending options with explanations; and ‘Financial Definitions.?
After answering 25 different questions, Gettler’s class was in the lead with $4,800 while Royster’s class had $3,000. The Final Jeopardy round consisted of five questions
? What is it called when you don’t spend money in order to make big purchases? And who can budget?
? Where can you open a savings account?
? What is the name of the coin with George Washington on it?
? What is better ? high credit score or low credit score?
? What is better ? a high interest rate or a low interest rate? (bank paying you).
In order to win, all five questions had to be answered correctly. Gettler’s class bet $100 and Royster’s class bet $1,800, but it was Gettler’s class that got the answers correct and took home the win with a final score of $4,700 to $1,200. However, being ‘humble winners? they invited their fellow third graders from Royster’s class to share in their pizza celebration.
‘This project was very enjoyable because the students were excited to see us and learn every week,? said Fullmer.
However, it didn’t come without some challenges, according to Schultz.
‘The students were sometimes a challenge to work with especially with the Jeopardy game because when they start having fun, they are hard to keep quiet,? he said. ‘It was also a challenge to create lessons that were short and creative enough to keep the students? attention, but make it informative enough to teach them the main facts we wanted to cover while being understandable for the third-graders.??
Royster thought it was ‘awesome? for the high school students ‘to come in and share their knowledge.?
‘The third-graders were excited. They were motivated and they learned a lot,? she said. ‘I highly recommend this and am looking forward to it next year.?
What did the third-graders learn?
Helena Knight from Royster’s class said she learned a lot about money.
‘Before, I kind of didn’t know who some people that were on the coins and dollar bills, so I learned that,? she said.
Fellow classmate Brody Norris also took away some knowledge
‘I also learned how your credit card works and stuff, like how the bank works on interest and stuff,? Norris said. ‘I kind of learned a lot because I didn’t know much about financial literacy.?
Adisen Berger from Gettler’s class said what she learned will help her when she goes shopping at the store to make a list and a have a budget for what’s on that list.
Classmate Matthew Dehmel learned about savings.
‘I find what I want (to buy) and I save money until I have enough to buy it,? he said.
The third-graders weren’t the only ones who learned something new through the process.
‘We did not know every president on the coins and bills, which ended up a lesson for us as well as the third-graders,? Fullmer said. ‘We also learned how to teach the students successfully at their age level to keep them informed and interested.?
Hale called the overall experience ‘rewarding.?
‘Knowing that (the third -graders) listened, learned and actively participated, made us feel like our project is worth while,? she said. ‘We hope that they retain most of this information for years to come.?