I was in a third grade classroom today doing a lesson on saving and spending wisely.\u00a0 It’s a fun lesson because kids get to “buy” things with $25 that I “give” them.\u00a0 With third graders, it’s important to let them know that the money isn’t real, nor are the items they buy.\u00a0 I learned this the hard way last year.<\/p>\n
Part way through the lesson I allow the kids to choose to save their money, spend it on another item, or share some of it.\u00a0 They record this on a worksheet I designed specifically for the lesson.\u00a0 Once they’ve recorded this part…the lesson continues.\u00a0 It culminates in whether or not\u00a0they get to go to Water Wonderland with their bestest buddy depending on how much money they have.\u00a0 I’ve also learned the hard way that I need to make sure, up front, that the students know that Water Wonderland exists only in my imagination.\u00a0 I had a second grader cry over this.<\/p>\n
But mostly it’s\u00a0a fun activity because kids get to peel off stickers.\u00a0 And the stickers have cute little pictures on them.\u00a0 Much more fun than “filling out” a worksheet.\u00a0 Except for the very last worksheet “requirement”.\u00a0 I ask the students to write down at the bottom what they learned from the activity.\u00a0 I do this to see if I’ve made my point.\u00a0 Then I collect the worksheets, read them (usually when the students are out at recess), and then send them home.<\/p>\n
I was quite surprised at the answers to this third grade group of students when it came to filling out the part about saving, sharing, or spending more.\u00a0 About 2\/3 chose to save and the other 1\/3 chose to buy another item.\u00a0 No-one chose to share any of their money.\u00a0 It made me wonder about how I presented it.\u00a0 I made the assumption that they would know that they could share it with those less fortunate or maybe\u00a0a cause\u00a0that they are passionate about.<\/p>\n
Turns out, my assumption was wrong.\u00a0 I did the exact same lesson in a different third grade classroom later in the day.\u00a0 This time, when we got to the sharing part I asked them who they could share some of their money with.\u00a0 This is what they told me:\u00a0 my brother, my sister, my cousin, my friend.\u00a0 When I pressed for other ways they could share, I got all blank stares.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That’s when the teacher stepped in.\u00a0 “Remember when we collected money for our SPCA community project?”\u00a0 Heads bobbed up and down.\u00a0 “Well, weren’t we sharing some of our money to help the animals?”\u00a0 More bobbing.\u00a0 “Can you think of other organizations or people who might need our help?”\u00a0 Yes, the could:\u00a0 the homeless, poor people, the elderly, the families in Haiti…\u00a0 And they all thought sharing with these was a good idea.<\/p>\n
Alrightie, then.\u00a0 I clearly hadn’t explained myself very well.\u00a0 Their definition of\u00a0 ‘share’ related to their everyday sharing experiences:\u00a0 share a cookie, share a toy, share their crayons.\u00a0 But then, why was it that no-one wanted to share their money with a sibling or a friend?\u00a0 It didn’t occur to me until later to ask, so I don’t have an answer.<\/p>\n
But another question occurred to me.\u00a0 Why didn’t any of these kids associate sharing with giving to those in need?\u00a0 Could it be that they aren’t accustomed to sharing money, or, at the very least, aware that mom and dad share money?\u00a0 Third graders are quite capable of understanding the sharing concept.\u00a0 Perhaps we need to do a better job of getting them involved.\u00a0 After all, sharing is a good thing, not only for the recipient, but for the giver.\u00a0 We do not want to deny this for our kids.\u00a0 Note to self:\u00a0 create a lesson based solely on having kids share their “money”.\u00a0 Stay tuned…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was in a third grade classroom today doing a lesson on saving and spending wisely.\u00a0 It’s a fun lesson because kids get to “buy” things with $25 that I “give” them.\u00a0 With third graders, it’s important to let them know that the money isn’t real, nor are the items they buy.\u00a0 I learned this the hard way last year. Part way through the lesson I allow the kids to choose to save their money, spend it on another item,…<\/p>\n