CLE Books: Dollars and Sense

Dollars and Sense challenges students to use systems thinking and mathematical tools to develop a realistic and personal understanding of the dynamics of the economic system in which we live.    This knowledge and insight, along with computer simulation and support from teachers and parents, should help them maximize the chance for building a prosperous future.   The first module, Dollars and Sense: Stay in the Black: Saving and Spending, is available in book form or online as pdf lessons and simulations.   The second module, Dollars and Sense: Our Interest in Interest, is available online as pdf lessons and simulations.

Simulations

Dollars and Sense: Stay in the Black

Dollars and Sense: Our Interest in Interest

Dollars and Sense: Stay in the Black: Saving and Spending

• Purchase the Dollars and Sense: Stay in the Black Book (includes CD with simulations and models)

The materials include Instructor Guides and Student Worksheets. By encouraging students to explore a diverse set of financial situations, the Guides and Worksheets further support student learning in four different ways.

• Learn by doing (constructivism): asking open-ended “what if” questions and using meaningful real-world examples.
• Learn by building a conceptual foundation: connecting important mathematical skills and tools (tables, graphs) with a systems thinking conceptual framework. This framework visually represents dynamically changing financial “systems” (e.g., a personal savings account).
• Learn by challenging preconceptions: discovering, by using computer simulations, that there is more than one right “answer” or way to successfully manage one’s finances.
• Learn by sharing, comparing, collaborating, and applying the lessons to meaningful personal financial problems. 

Numerous mathematical and systems thinking standards are addressed by these 7 Lessons.

Select a Dollars and Sense: Stay in the Black lesson to download
Each lesson includes teacher/parent instructions and student worksheets

Lesson 1: Can I Manage My Money and My Music? Lesson 2: Can I Reach a Personal Saving and Spending Goal? Lesson 3: Can I Make Money with a Lemonade Stand? Lesson 4: Can I Successfully Run the Local Food Bank? Lesson 5: Can I Help a Responsible Teen Buy a Car? Lesson 6: How Does Interest Grow My Savings? Lesson 7: Can Compound Interest Make Me a Millionaire?

 

Dollars and Sense: Our Interest in Interest

Explore the simulations from Dollars and Sense: Our Interest in Interest

Select a Dollars and Sense: Our Interest in Interest lesson to download
Each lesson includes teacher/parent instructions and student worksheets

#1: Can Compound Interest Work for Me? #2: How Can I Maximize Savings While Spending?