Standard+7

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**Teachers are able to plan different kinds of lessons.** The teacher organizes and plans systematic instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, pupils, the community, and curriculum goals.

 Understanding Credit Reports and Scores Lesson Plan Personal Finance Course  
 * Evidence **

Oftentimes an employer will look at a person’s credit score prior to considering him/her for a job. The same is true when a student wants to rent an apartment, the landlord will check the student’s credit score. Helping students understand financial decisions they make, good or bad, can affect their scores. This lesson identifies ways to build a good credit score, the contents of a credit report, and things to do to be considered a good credit risk.
 * Rationale **

The credit report and score lesson plan is part of the Credit unit in the Personal Finance course, which is available to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This lesson was taught. The parts and percentages of a credit score may have been a little too factual for them. Students did relate to the life events that influence their credit scores as portrayed in the freecreditreport.com commercials.

The personal financial literacy state standards drive my responsibility to teach students about credit reports and credit scores; however, I enjoy teaching students about this topic. Finding good exercises and resources to supplement the terminology gives students various ways to learn the material that they need to be wise credit users in their personal lives. The www.freecreditreport.com commercials advertise credit reports are free from them, only if you pay a monthly monitoring fee. That gives me the opportunity to talk about the //correct// website to use, [|www.annualcreditreport.com], and the significance of the FACT Act. Incorporating independent learning assignments gives time in class to discuss real life scenarios. This unit is taught near the holiday season. Using credit gets more attention on news programs.

Students come in to class having heard of or used credit cards, but don’t know as much about other forms of credit. I learned through this lesson that students like investigating to get the answers. The //Small Acts, Big Savings// exercise is an eye opener, comparing the costs of a mortgage and car loan for a person with a good credit score and someone with a poor one when borrowing the same amount of money. Asking the students what they could buy with the difference in total amount paid shows how significant it is to make good financial choices //before// buying big ticket items.

Students have some experience with using credit cards, either themselves or while with their parents. Students must understand how good and poor credit use can affect their ability to rent an apartment, get cell phone service, or get a job. At this stage in their lives they can make small financial transactions to build a good credit rating such as making regular deposits to a savings account, acquiring a low credit line credit card with a parent as a co-signer, and paying all bills on time.
 * KSD **
 * 7.K.1 **The teacher understands learning theory, subject matter, curriculum development, and student development to plan instruction and to meet curriculum goals based on content standards.

Other than notes, students can learn about credit from videos and interactive websites like the Citi website and [|www.annualcreditreport.com]. Students can work at their own pace through the exercises. They can ask questions of the teacher or look at other informative websites.
 * 7.S.2 **The teacher plans for learning opportunities that recognize and address variation in learning styles, learning differences, and performance modes.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Originally the Small Acts, Big Savings assignment was something I showed as part of the notes as the $47,000 question. I changed it so that students could do it themselves by selecting any car or house on the market and doing their own calculations. It didn’t matter if they bought a luxurious house or a fixer-upper, the outcome was the same. The boys would usually have differences around $200,000 because they chose high-end sports cars like Ferraris or Lamborghinis. The girls had more practical cars but liked the fancier houses. Having students do it themselves based on their interests made it a better lesson.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">7.D.2 **<span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> The teacher believes that plans must always be open to adjustment and revision based on student needs and changing circumstances.