TEACHER’S GUIDETeach your students the importance of saving and the difference between want and need with the fun comic book from Visa and Marvel

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OVERVIEW

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

In this lesson based around the Practical Money Skills comic book, Rocket’s Powerful Plan, students will: •Learnseveralbasicmoneymanagementconcepts •Mastertheimportanceofbudgeting,savingandemergencyfunds •Learningthedifferencebetweenawantandaneed Grade level: 2nd – 7th Time allotment: 60 + minutes Learning objectives: Students will •Explainbasicmoneymanagementterms •Summarizethereasonsforplanningahead,savingoftenandspendingwisely •Learnhowtosaveforfutureunplannedexpenses •Setagoalforsavingmoney Course:Math/SocialStudies/LanguageArts Core competencies:Earn/Save/Spend Key vocabulary:Bank,banking,budget,currency,payment,expenses,emergencyfund,spendwisely,fee,savingsaccount Materials: •Rocket’sPowerfulPlancomicbookisavailabledigitally,asapdfandinprint(via

onlineorder)atwww.practicalmoneyskills.com/guardians •SuperHeroSavingSmashandFantasticFinanceTermsworksheetsareavailablefor

downloadatwww.practicalmoneyskills.com/guardians

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GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

INSTRUCTION

Understandingtheimportanceofmaintainingapersonalbudgetandbuildingsavingsisacriticalfinancialliteracyskillforelementaryandmiddleschoolstudents.Thiseducationalcomicbookintroducesstudentstotheconceptsofbanking,budgetingandsavinginafunandengagingway.Theywilllearnimportantconceptsandterminologyviathestoryandbyutilizingtheglossaryoffinancialtermsandsavingsworksheet. WARM UP (10 mins.)Openyourdiscussionbyaskingstudentshowmanyofthemknowwhatabudgetis.Askthemwhatcanhappenwhenyoudon’thaveabudgetandwhytheythinksavingisimportant.Thenexplainthatsavingiseasierwhenyousetshort-term(one-month)savingsgoals(likebuyingavideogame)andlong-term(six-month)savingsgoals(likebuyingabicycle).Explainthathavingaplacetoliveisa“need”andthatbuyinganewtoyisa“want.” Completethewarmupbyhavingstudentswritedownashort-termgoalandalong-termgoalof their own, and about how much they think each would cost. TEACHING KEY CONCEPTS (10 mins.) Why is it important to plan for the future, budget and save? •Tohaveaplanforyourspending •Toensureyouspendwithinyourmeans •Toearmarkmoneyforsavings •Tohelpyoureachfinancialgoals Why is having an emergency fund important? •Allowsyoutosavemoneyforthefuture(e.g.,buyingabookforschool) •Preparesyouforunexpectedexpenses(e.g.,bicyclerepaircosts) •Helpsyouplanforafuturegoal(e.g.,savingforacar) REVIEWING FINANCIAL TERMS (10 mins.)Havestudentstaketurnsreadingthefinancialdefinitionsintheinsidebackcoverofthecomic.

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GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

INSTRUCTION (continued)

READING THE COMIC (25 mins.)Havestudentsopentheirprintedcomicsorgatheraroundclassroomcomputerstoviewdigitalcopiesofthecomicbook.Studentscantaketurnsreadingpagesorportionsofthecomic. DISCUSSION (5 mins.)Afterreadingthecomic,posethefollowingdiscussionquestionstotheclass(possibleresponsesare included below): Question 1:WhatdoesAntManlearnaboutmanaginghismoneyinRocket’s Powerful Plan? - The importance of saving for the future and unexpected expenses. -Thatsavingiscriticalsoyoucanmeetfinancialgoalsandhavemoneysetasidefor

your monthly budget.

Question 2:AntMan’sgoalistobuyanewdrumsetforhisdaughterCassie.Whatisa savingsgoalyouhave?Volunteertoshareasavingsgoalyouhavewiththeclassanddiscusshowmuchitmightcostandhowlongitmighttakeyoutosaveforthisgoal. - New video game system ($300 over 6 months), new bike ($250 over 4 months), etc Endthediscussionbyencouragingstudentstotalkwiththeirfamiliesabouttheirownvaluesaroundbudgeting,savingandbuildinganemergencyfundforunplannedexpenses.

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GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

EXTRA CREDIT

SUPER HERO SAVING SMASH EXERCISE (20 mins.)HavestudentsturntotheSuperHeroSavingSmashworksheetonthebackcoverofthecomic,orprintcopiesofthepdfforeachstudent.Letthemknowtheywillbecreatingbudgetsof their own. Next,readaloudtheinstructionsatthetopoftheworksheetandrevieweachofthethree mini-games.Explainthatthegoalofthisexerciseistolearnthedifferencebetweensomethingthey“want”andotherthingsthey“need”intheirdailylives. Thenhavestudentscompletetheworksheetindividually.Finally,reviewtheirworksheetstoensurethey’vebeencompletedcorrectly.CongratulatethemontheirnewmoneyskillsandbecomingaSuperHerosaver.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AccesstheseadditionalPracticalMoneySkillsresourcesforteachingfinancialliteracyinyour classroom:

Lesson plans:www.practicalmoneyskills.com/lessonplans Games:www.practicalmoneyskills.com/games