‘GREAT content, GREAT activities, GREAT explanations!’
—Joyce Deer, Math Teacher, North Pike High School, Summit, MS
‘A valuable addition to the literature on the practical use of mathematics in the real world. This book will contribute to the improvement of monetary connections within secondary mathematics as well as financial literacy in our country.’
—Edward C. Nolan, Mathematics Department Chair, Albert Einstein High School, Kensington, MD
Use real-life money issues to raise students′ mathematical and financial literacy!
Research has solidly established the importance of teaching mathematics in contexts that capture student interest and involvement. Weaving real-world financial issues into secondary mathematics instruction, this highly practical book offers teachers engaging ways to infuse personal money management into NCTM standards–based math lessons.
Using authentic material from daily life, the authors illustrate instructional strategies that connect required mathematical concepts with basic money matters, giving students a solid understanding of financial realities essential to successful everyday living. This resource meets the expanding demands for equity and accountability and:
- Relates math to credit cards, paying taxes, stocks & bonds, mortgages, buying a car, and much more
- Expands teachers′ knowledge of basic financial concepts
- Provides suggestions for projects to extend the concepts learned
- Includes a math locator, glossary of money terms, comprehensive index, and summary of formulas
This valuable guide gives teachers, math coaches, and curriculum specialists the resources they need to make math come alive in the classroom and to develop financially savvy students.
Table of Content
Foreword by Charlotte Danielson
Introduction
Math Locator
About the Authors
1. Cars, Cars, and More Cars: Paying for Your Wheels
NCTM Standards Applied in This Chapter
Background: Basics of Buying Cars
Teaching Example 1.1. Car Costs
Teaching Example 1.2. MPG Plus
Teaching Example 1.3. Buy or Lease
2. Savings: Reality Check and the Difference Between Needs and Wants
NCTM Standards Applied in This Chapter
Background: Basics of Savings
Teaching Example 2.1. Budgets and Savings
Teaching Example 2.2. Future Value: A Geometric Sequence
Teaching Example 2.3. Annuities: A Geometric Series
3. Credit Cards and Debt Management: Using Credit Seems Unreal
NCTM Standards Applied in This Chapter
Background: Basics of Credit and Debit Cards
Teaching Example 3.1. Calculating Minimum Monthly Payments
Teaching Example 3.2. Credit Card Payoff: A Spreadsheet
4. Investments: The Basics and More
NCTM Standards Applied in This Chapter
Background: Basics of Investments
Teaching Example 4.1. Stock Prices and Percents
Teaching Example 4.2: Analyzing Graphs of Stock Prices
Teaching Example 4.3. Statistics of Stock I: Measures of Center, Standard Deviation, Normal Distribution
Teaching Example 4.4. Statistics of Stock II: Weighted Average, Correlation, Line of Best Fit
5. Buying a House Versus Renting: How Much Will It Cost?
NCTM Standards Applied in This Chapter
Background: Basics of Buying a House and Renting an Apartment
Teaching Example 5.1. Budgeting for a Down Payment
Teaching Example 5.2. Determining Mortgage Payments: Tables, Formulas, Spreadsheets
Teaching Example 5.3. Principal and Interest Functions
6. Taxes: How They Work
NCTM Standards Applied in This Chapter
Background: Basics of Income Taxes–Federal and State
Teaching Example 6.1. Income Tax and FICA
Teaching Example 6.2. Capital Gains and Losses
Teaching Example 6.3. How Uncle Sam Uses Tax Dollars
7. Economics: Supply and Demand, Inflation, and the GDP
NCTM Standards Applied in This Chapter
Background: Economics, Supply and Demand, Inflation, and the GDP
Teaching Example 7.1. Supply and Demand Functions
Teaching Example 7.2.: Inflation and the GDP
8. In Business for Yourself: Business Plan and Break-Even Analysis
NCTM Standards Applied in This Chapter
Background: In Business for Yourself–A Business Plan and Break-Even Analysis
Teaching Example 8.1. Starting a Business: Pro Forma Income Statement
Teaching Example 8.2. Revenue, Costs, and Break-Even Points
Selected List of Formulas
Excel Spreadsheet Hints
Money Glossary
Index
About the author
Paul Westbrook, CFP, is President of Westbrook Financial Advisers, a fee-only financial and retirement planning firm in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Paul has spoken at financial planning and benefits conferences and has been quoted in Money magazine, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, and Barron’s. He also teaches at the business school at Rutgers University. Paul has written several books: Word Smart for Business, Math Smart for Business, and Business Companion. He also wrote JK Lasser’s New Rules for Retirement and Tax.