FINANCIAL MATH

Welcome to the 2019 - 2020 School Year!

Check here weekly topics and assignments

Weeks of 6/8 - 6/19

We made it to the end of the year! Seniors, your official last day is Wednesday, 6/10. Congratulations!!!

The final exam is just a short reflection about your favorite unit of the year, what it was and why was it your favorite? Is there anything you would have liked to learn? Things you think could have been done differently or better? Please email me a couple sentence reflection on the class at galec@issaquah.wednet.edu

Week of 6/1 – 6/5

This week we continue to look at the stock market and investing. The activities are designed to be approximately 25 minutes/day, however, if you would like to complete the week’s activities and submit at once that works for me as well. Please note, your classwork is due FRIDAY, 6/5.

Monday and Tuesday: Complete Stock Tracker Project

Part 1: Complete your fifth day of tracking for the five stocks you selected and enter it into your Excel workbook, you should have five different days to review and be able to look at the graphs and trends in the tables below your data.

Part 2: You will also do a short reflection (paragraph) on this project. It can be about anything you learned, if you are stuck, some questions to consider:

How did your stocks perform? Did some do better than others? Did any of your stocks surprise you? Do you think stocks are a good investment? Will you invest in the stock market in the future?

Submit both the Excel workbook and your paragraph reflection to Ms. Gale by email.

Wednesday and Thursday: Compound Interest and the Rule of 72

Compound Interest: Read this article and watch the video (2 min), includes the formula on how compound interest is calculated.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/17/compound-interest-how-to-calculate-the-formula-behind-it.html

The Rule of 72: Read this article and watch the two short embedded videos (2 mins each) that describe how you can use the rule of 72 to quickly estimate compound interest (without using that huge mathematical formula)!

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/28/what-the-rule-of-72-is-and-how-it-works.html

Application: Complete this worksheet and submit to Ms. Gale via email.

Friday: Zoom meeting at from 1-1:30 pm (I will send out an invitation link). This will be out last Zoom meeting and a chance to say goodbye to our Seniors! (their last day is Wednesday 6/10). I hope to see you all there!

Week of 5/26 – 5/29

Tuesday: Buying Stock

1. Be sure that you do your third day of tracking for the five stocks you selected and enter it into your Excel document (from last week)!

2. EdPuzzle (with embedded questions) - How the Stock Market Works

Click on this link and answer the embedded questions:

https://edpuzzle.com/media/5d51e81368edba413a68cd10

Wednesday: A Simple Introduction to Investing. The link below has a infographic (you will need to scroll down). Read through the infographic and use it to find the answers the four questions below.

https://wealth.visualcapitalist.com/simple-introduction-investing/

Your friend says, “I have some extra money, but I’m not sure if I should save or invest it.” What key questions would you ask your friend to help them figure out what to do?
What is the advantage of investing early for retirement?
If investing can bring higher returns, why should you put money in a savings account at all?
What 3 tips would you give someone who is about to invest their money for the first time?

Thursday: Retirement Calculator. Click on the NerdWallet to access the retirement calculator. You will input the information from the 3 fictional individuals on the attached website to get your data, then answer the questions on the bottom of the sheet.

Go to the following link to access the retirement calculator and input the scenarios on the attached document below.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/investing/retirement-calculator

Friday: Zoom meeting at from 1-1:30 pm (I will send out an invitation link). If you cannot attend at this time, please send a short reflection on the week’s activities or send any questions you have to Ms. Gale via email.

Also, be sure that you do your fourth day of tracking for your stocks and enter it into your Excel document (from last week)!

Week of 5/18 – 5/22

This week we are starting to learn about the stock market. The activities are designed to be approximately 25 minutes/day, however, if you would like to complete the week’s activities and submit at once that works for me as well. Please note, your classwork is due FRIDAY, 5/22.

Monday: Intro to the Stock Market. This week we will start our final unit on the stock market. Watch this short (15 minutes) YouTube video on an introduction to the stock market. Be sure you can answer the following questions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzZbHwfEjYI

What is liquidity?
Why do stock prices change?

Tuesday: Stock Tracker Project. Today you will pick 5 stocks that you want to track over the next few weeks. Please bookmark this website and also download the Excel document somewhere on your desktop of documents where you can access it regularly. You will turn this Excel book in at the end of the year so please don’t lose it!

https://markets.businessinsider.com

On the Excel document, you can see that there are pink boxes. These are the only boxes that you should be editing/changing. Everything else will do the math for you automatically. I have provided two example stocks, you can use these or select new ones but you will be tracking five stocks total.

To find a stock, go to the business insider website and use the search function (top right). You can search for any public company and you should be able to find it. Once you click on it, you will be able to see the name of the company, the ticker symbol (parenthesis) and the current price. These change constantly so just be sure it is from the day you are looking. This week you will track your stock on Tuesday (5/18) and Friday (5/22)

Wednesday and Thursday: Student Choice. Complete two of the four activities below:

Algebra practice (CBMs)

Stock Market Over Time: Review historical data about the stock market and using the graph on the worksheet answer the questions below to the best of your ability.

Working the Stock Market: Review the instructions and answer based on the table (#2 may be a challenge, just do your best)

Break Even Point: Review the instructions, add the money ($$) columns then divide by number of shares.

Friday: Microsoft Teams meeting at from 1-1:30 pm. You will receive an invite through our class Team in Office 365. If you have any questions please ask Ms. Gale prior to the meeting. If you cannot attend at this time, please send a short reflection on the week’s activities or send any questions you have to Ms. Gale via email. Also, be sure that you do your second tracking of stock today and enter it into your Excel document!

Week of 5/11 – 5/15

This week we are continuing the insurance unit starting to learn about homeowner’s, renter’s and mortgage insurance. The activities are designed to be approximately 25 minutes/day, however, if you would like to complete the week’s activities and submit at once that works for me as well. Please note, your classwork is due FRIDAY, 5/15.

Monday: Homeowner’s and Renter’s Insurance. This week we are learning about homeowner’s insurance, renter’s insurance and mortgage insurance. Review the powerpoint (includes audio). The last slide has two short videos and two questions. Watch the videos and answer, however, you do not need to send those answers to me.

Tuesday: Homeowner’s and Renter’s Insurance. Watch this video on what is typically covered by Renter’s Insurance. Then, using your knowledge from the powerpoint and videos to review the infographic “Homeowners” Insurance at a Glance” and write three key takeaways at the bottom (or email them to me).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESTH80RpUmk

Wednesday and Thursday: Student Choice. Complete two of the four activities below:

Algebra practice (multi-step equations CBMs)

Homeowner’s and Renter’s Webquest: Research what happens when people do not have insurance coverage

What is your stuff worth: Use the link at the bottom of the worksheet to find out the value of your stuff

Mortgage Insurance: Use the table to find the appropriate coverage percentage based on the term and policy year and then multiply that percentage by the mortgage amount.

Week of 5/4 – 5/8

This week we are continuing the insurance unit starting to learn about life insurance. The activities are designed to be approximately 25 minutes/day, however, if you would like to complete the week’s activities and submit at once that works for me as well. Please note, your classwork is due FRIDAY, 5/8.

Monday: Intro to Life Insurance. This week we are learning about life insurance. Watch the introduction to life insurance video at the link below (about 8:30). After that, start reading the “Lessons in Life Insurance" PDF packet (4 pages).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CR1KwIwawg

Tuesday: Intro to Life Insurance. Finish reading the “Lessons in Life Insurance PDF packet (4 pages) including the vocabulary terms. On page 4, there are 8 questions asking whether it is a “term” policy or a permanent “perm” policy. Submit those answers in a Word doc or email.

Wednesday and Thursday: Student Choice. Complete two of the three activities below:

Algebra practice (multi-step equations)
Algebra practice 2 (solving systems of equations)
Financial Math Word Problems: We have done all of these types of problems before, remember back to all or rules on percentages!

Friday: Microsoft Teams meeting at from 1-1:30 pm. You will receive an invite. Please make sure you can log into our class Team through Office 365. If you have any questions please ask Ms. Gale prior to the meeting. If you cannot attend at this time, please send a short reflection on the week’s activities or send any questions you have to Ms. Gale via email.

Week of 4/27 – 5/1

Greetings Financial Math students! This week we are continuing the insurance unit starting to learn about health insurance. The activities are designed to be approximately 25 minutes/day, however, if you would like to complete the week’s activities and submit at once that works for me as well. Please note, your classwork is due FRIDAY, 5/1.

Monday: Intro to Health Insurance. This week we are learning about health insurance. Attached is a PPT that has definitions of key terms that help you understand health insurance: premium, deductible, co-pay, co-insurance and premium. Review this and make sure you understand them, if it is unclear here are a couple other videos that can help:

https://www.aetna.com/health-guide/explaining-premiums-deductibles-coinsurance-and-copays.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4-pklsDT_Q

Tuesday: Health Insurance Vocabulary. Complete this sheet demonstrating that you understand the key terms of health insurance (matching and fill in the blank). If you have time, you can review the video below to help understand, Why is Health Care so Expensive?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbBKoyjFLUY

Wednesday and Thursday: Student Choice. Complete two of the activities below:

Algebra practice (multi-step equations)

Percentages practice (you should remember these divide by 100 and multiply!)

Health Insurance Premiums (metals): this exercise asks you to find the percentage for each health insurance level (silver, gold, etc) and then multiply by the (60% = 0.60) percentage that would be covered. Remember this means that you would have to pay the rest! Essentially the higher your monthly premium, the more in the insurance company will pay.

“Break a Leg” asks you to apply the knowledge you learned from health insurance plans to see what an individual would need to pay based on their procedure and health plan. Yes – I know I gave you the answers that is intentional but try it on your own first!

Week of 4/20 - 4/24

Greetings Financial Math students! This week we are going to start our insurance unit. We are beginning with car insurance. The activities are designed to be approximately 25 minutes/day, however, if you would like to complete the week’s activities and submit at once that works for me as well. Please note, your classwork is due FRIDAY, 4/24.

Monday: What is Car Insurance? Review Slides 1-6 of the Car Insurance Powerpoint and read the corresponding PDF (#1). Be sure you can answer the questions at the bottom, however, you DO NOT need to answer them on a separate sheet of paper or submit them.

Tuesday: Different types of Insurance. Review Slides 7-10 of the Car Insurance Powerpoint and read the corresponding PDF (#2). Be sure you can answer the questions at the bottom, however, you DO NOT need to answer them on a separate sheet of paper or submit them.

Wednesday: Cost of Car Insurance. Review Slides 11-12 of the Car Insurance Powerpoint and read the corresponding PDF (#3). Be sure you can answer the questions at the bottom, however, you DO NOT need to answer them on a separate sheet of paper or submit them.

Thursday: Complete and Submit the Car Insurance Assessment. This is not a test, you can use the powerpoint, notes, the PDF docs, or whatever you need to answer the questions. It is three pages. NOTE: This is the only document you need to turn in to me this week. Please take a picture or send your answers by Googledocs to my email.

Friday: Microsoft Teams meeting from 1-1:30 pm. You will receive an invite. Please make sure you can log into our class Team through Office 365. If you have any questions, ask me prior to the meeting. If you cannot attend at this time, please send a short reflection on the week’s activities or send any questions you have to me by email.

Weekly Activities:

Turn in by email Friday:

Week of 4/6 -4/10

This week I posted two new practice resources; Income Tax Brackets and Car Shopping Rates Comparison. Any work that is submitted on a Friday will get feedback by the following Wednesday. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me.

Week of 3/30 - 4/3

This week I posted three new budgeting practice resources; finding an apartment; utilities webquest and exercise, and practice reviewing an electric bill. Any work that is submitted on a Friday will get feedback by the following Wednesday. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me.

Week of 3/23 - 3/27

As outlined in the district email communications, I will be posting weekly Emergency Education Learning Resources (EELRs) for Financial Math students. I have created two new website pages EELRs for Algebra practice, and EELRs for Financial Math. All activities are voluntary and designed to help students reinforce and maintain previous taught skills. This week I posted three budgeting practice resources; an exploration of budgeting apps, a webquest on housing and cost of living prices, and an interactive simulation game where students learn to budget under crisis conditions. Any work that is submitted on a Friday will get feedback by the following Wednesday. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me.

Week of 3/9 - 3/12

This week we did a mini-unit on tax revenues and what the government does with this money. We looked at the federal budget for fiscal year 2018 and distinguished between mandatory and discretionary spending categories. Students participated in a debate on spending categories as well as balancing the budget and deficit spending. We looked at the current U.S. debt, who we owe money to and how it is growing in real time. We also had a class discussion on the impact of global events on world economies, specifically looking at the current coronavirus crisis and how that was affecting the stock market in real time, impacts to individuals and small and large businesses.

Week of 3/2 - 3/6

This week we finished the unit on taxes. We completed a mock 1040 tax form so students could understand the process for submitting taxes to the federal government. Students learned about income tax filing, both personal and corporate and we discussed the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance. We discussed how the federal government spends tax dollars and reviewed real data from the 2018 U.S. federal budget to learn about differences between mandatory and discretionary spending programs, budget deficits/surpluses, and how this impacts the national debt. We did an exercise reviewing GDP and business cycles.

Week of 2/24 - 2/28

This week we began a unit on Income Taxes. Students learned the basics of income taxes, including filing federal, state and local taxes. Students learned about Social Security and Medicare taxes and the programs they fund. The learned how to review W-2 wage statements. Students compared proportional (flat) taxes to progressive taxes and learned how to read the U.S. government tax tables and apply percentages. Students used this information to solve word problems on "real life" scenarios.

Week of 2/10 - 2/14

This week we will finish the unit on credit. Students learned about FICO scores and how they are calculated. We reviewed a credit card statement identifying key pieces of information, and we learned about the 20-10 rule for carrying a safe debt load. We did a hands-on exercise to evaluate the impact of personal decisions on credit scores and how this negatively can impact credit rates. Students received a study guide Tuesday, the unit quiz will be on Friday, 2/14.

https://www.myfico.com/fico-credit-score-estimator/estimator

https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/calculators/loan-savings-calculator/

Week of 2/3 - 2/7

This week we continued the unit on credit. Students took notes on rights and responsibilities of credit, as well as legal protections. Students learned the difference between simple and compound interest, the algebraic formulas for each type, and used these formulas to set up and solve word problems.

Week of 1/28 - 1/31

This week we began the unit on credit. Students learned what credit is, defined creditworthiness (the 5 Cs), learned about credit scores and terminology related to credit (APR, annual fee, etc). Students did an exercise that showed how credit card debt accumulates interest and ran simulations of how this can change over time.

FINAL PROJECT: Due Friday, January 24th

Using the budget research worksheet we completed in class last week, transfer your information into this Excel workbook. Note- only enter information into tabs/fields that are highlighted in yellow, the other calculations are done for you! When you have completed the workbook, email it to Ms. Gale, galec@issaquah.wednet.edu

Include a small 3-4 sentence reflection about something that surprised you or the most interesting thing you learned in your research.

Week of 1/13 - 1/17

What a crazy week! Three snow days and two late starts so very limited class time. I have decided we will still have a final project but it will be significantly pared down! Make sure that the budget research sheet handed out in class is complete by Tuesday, January 21st. This should be based on your plans post-high school (college, work, living situation, etc).

Week of 1/6 - 1/10

Welcome back! Students completed a short series of exercises from the consumer math textbook related to travel, practicing skills including percentages, time calculations and setting up algebraic equations to solve word problems. Students did an algebra practice activity solving on linear equations and inequalities.

Week of 12/16 - 12/20

The students did a review of checking account reconciliation and then completed a short open note quiz to conclude Unit 4. We ended the week with a video and discussion, highlighting the importance of money management skills they have learned thus far.

Week of 12/9 - 12/13

Students continued work on the banking services unit. They learned to write checks, balance a check book and create a check register. They then learned to read bank account statements and reconcile transactions. Students did an algebra practice activity solving systems of equations.

Week of 12/2 - 12/6

This week we began Unit 4 on banking services. We started the unit by learning about different types of bank accounts, checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit. Students researched two checking accounts online. Students did an algebra practice activity solving multi-step inequalities.

Week of 11/25 - 11/26

Happy Thanksgiving! This is a short week and we are ending our housing unit. On Monday we did a Unit 3 study guide which can be found under Unit 3 resources. On Tuesday students took an open note Unit 3 quiz.

Week of 11/18 - 11/22

Students finished the housing unit, focusing on renting apartments. They learned about leases and tenant and landlord rights, and debated pros and cons of renting versus buying. Students calculated the base costs of a rental, including first and last month's rent, deposit, security, utilities etc. Students also researched local rental rates and will use this information for their semester final budget project. Students had an IEP data day measuring math progress.

Week of 11/12 - 11/15

Students continued to look at housing and what is affordable. Students debated the merits of buying versus renting and learning about how factors such as the economy, length of ownership and location can impact the value of homes over time. They used calculators and tools such as the mortgage rule. Students did a webquest activity where they researched the cost of real estate in various locations and practiced using mortgage calculators as tools to determine monthly payments, annual payments, taxes, and repayment calculations.

Week of 11/4 - 11/8

Students continued the unit on housing, and started practicing calculating interest rates. The class learned about fixed interest versus compound interest and the effect this has on the amount of money paid over time. Students learned about fixed rate, variable rate and balloon mortgages. Students used knowledge of percentages to practice calculating down payments and mortgages.

Week of 10/28 - 11/1

Students finished the consumer spending unit, doing a quiz review and taking the unit 2 quiz on Tuesday. The class began the next unit on housing, which includes renting and buying. This week we started by defining key terms in purchasing a home such as mortgages, down payments, and revisiting interest rates. Students did practice exercises using percentages and incorporating prior knowledge from their earning income unit. Students had the opportunity to do an algebra practice activity.

Week of 10/21 - 10/25

Students continued their unit two work on consumer spending. Students learned about purchasing cars and discussed price differentials of purchasing used cars vs. new cars and purchasing vs. leasing. Students also applied their math skills to calculate fuel costs. Finally, the students had an introduction to financing purchases, calculating monthly payments, deferred pricing and interest payments for car purchases. Students had the opportunity to do an algebra practice activity.

Note: The Unit 2 quiz will be on Tuesday, October 29th. We will do a review packet on Monday, the 28th which will be posted under the Unit 2 resources tab.

Week of 10/14 - 10/18

Students continued their unit two work on consumer spending. Students learned about inflation and how prices change over time. This incorporated percentages to calculate average rates of growth. Classwork continued by calculating sales prices, as well as applying discount rates and coupons. Students had the opportunity to do an algebra practice activity.

Week of 10/7 - 10/11

Students started Unit 2 on consumer purchases. Students reviewed reading prices, adding and multiplying prices for totals. They learned to calculate sales tax and also calculating the bill using percentages for tips and taxes.

Week of 9/30 - 10/4

Students continued their unit one work on salary and wages, focusing on the labor market and unemployment statistics. Students learned about unemployment, reviewed graphs of data, and learned about the differences between cyclical, seasonal, frictional and structural unemployment. On Thursday students will review for the quiz, the study guide can be found under the Unit 1 resources tab. On Friday they take the Unit 1 quiz.

Week of 9/23 - 9/27

Students continued work on earning income. This week students learned about the differences in salaries and wages, as well as the associated conditions around exempt and non-exempt workers. Students began to learn about behavioral economics, the economics of happiness and analyzed their individual financial values through an online quiz and reflection. Finally, students completed two IEP data assessments related to foundational algebra skills and applying financial math skills to real-life scenario word problems.

Week of 9/16 - 9/20

Students continued work on their earning income unit. Students continued to learn about calculating wages, including piecework, wages and tips, and commission. Students practiced converting decimals and percents. Students used CareerOneStop to explore a career of their choice and research average salaries/wages, job outlook, job summaries and duties as well as education and knowledge required.

Week of 9/9 - 9/13

Students began unit 1 which focuses on earning income. Students learned the difference between salary and wages, and how to calculate overtime. They completed a short research project on careers and associated salaries and wages (hourly, monthly, annual).

Monthly Budget Template - Excel.xlsx

Car Insurance Assessment.pdf

2 - Types of Insurance.pdf

3 - Costs of Insurance.pdf

1 - What is Insurance.pdf

Car Insurance PPT.pdf

Health Insurance Premium (Metals).pdf

Break a leg.pdf

percentages practice.pdf

multi-step algebraic equations.pdf

Health Insurance Vocabulary.pdf

Health Insurance PPT (audio).ppt