• Context
• Lesson-Specific Standards
• Teaching the Lesson
• Assessment
• Lesson Materials
• Resources

Activity 2. Groups Create Draft Budgets

If the technology is available, encourage each group to use a computer, both for “number crunching” and to prepare a PowerPoint presentation, including a pie chart created in Excel, of the budget they have agreed on. If computers are not available, these activities can be done with more traditional tools. For homework, assign students to prepare a four-minute persuasive speech on their budget’s highlights and rationale and to select one student to role-play the President, who will deliver the speech. In retrospect, Leslie Martin thought she might have given more guidance on the nature of the speech they were to prepare, e.g., “If you’re presenting this to a group of adversaries, not the choir preaching to the choir but people that might not agree with you, what kinds of questions might you anticipate and how are you going to answer them?”

During this small-group work, circulate among the groups to make sure all are on task. Leslie Martin’s method of working with small groups is to check briefly to make sure everyone is on task and then to spend five to 10 minutes with each group, listening to their deliberations, intervening when necessary to keep them on track, and occasionally asking a question that might stimulate some deeper reflection on the topic at hand.

Overview, Goals, and Planning    |     Activity 1
Activity 2     |     Activity 3     |     Activity 4     |     Activity 5     |     Activity 6     |     Activity 7     |     Scheduling and Adaptations