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History, Civics & Social Studies · Grade 8

A Financial Decision-Making Project

The elective's capstone. Learners work through a fictional household's year: Carmen and her brother Luis share an apartment and must balance their budget, build an emergency fund, decide how to finance a used car, and choose between two health plans. They calculate each piece, state their assumptions, weigh trade-offs, and write a recommendation memo that presents options fairly. Everything is fictional; nothing is personal financial advice.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 150 minutes
  • Project skills check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, type a number, put in order and sort into groups
See plans Included with Family, Teacher and School plans. Open in PlayOwl

What learners will discover

  • Analyze a household budget and identify a realistic monthly amount for goals.
  • Set SMART goals and calculate the time and saving needed to reach them.
  • Compare loan offers and insurance plans using total cost and scenarios.
  • Write a recommendation memo that states assumptions, trade-offs and alternatives.

Lessons

  1. The household budget 4 steps3 practiceabout 36 min
  2. Goals and saving plans 4 steps3 practiceabout 36 min
  3. Financing the car 4 steps3 practiceabout 36 min
  4. Insurance choice and the memo 6 steps4 practiceabout 42 min
  5. Project skills check 9 questions at the end

Keep exploring

More 8th grade social studies

Guide for grown-ups