LESSON PLAN TITLE:  Credit card calculator

 

DEVELOPMENTAL COURSE:  081

 

CONCEPT/TOPIC TO TEACH:  Decimals, percent, estimation

 

STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

 

      a)  C-2: Number sense, mental arithmetic, estimation

      b)  C-17: Problems related to ordinary lives of students;

      c)  P-2: Technology to aid in concept development

 

 

GENERAL GOAL(S):

 

a)     Teach students how to use technology to solve a real-life problem 

b)    Practice adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals

c)     Practice converting decimal to percent

 

 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

 

d)    a) Generate data that student can use to make decision as to how much to pay each month on credit card bill

 

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

 

a)     Access to Internet

b)    URL for credit card calculator:  http://creditfederal.com/creditcard-interest-calculator.html

c)     Calculator

 

 

STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURES:

 

a)     Have each student provide real data from personal credit card statement: debt balance, interest rate (APR), minimum monthly payment

b)    Enter balance, interest rate, minimum payment into credit card calculator

c)     Record months to pay off debt, total paid at pay-off, interest paid at pay-off

d)    Figure out monthly payment to pay off debt in 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months.  Record same data as listed in item ̉cÓ for each time

e)     Calculate interest saved between 12 and 9 months, 12 and 6 months, and 12 and 3 months

f)     Calculate what percent the interest paid at pay-off is of original balance for all 5 time frames

 

PLAN FOR INDEPENDENT PRACTICE:

 

a)     Instructor does one example on overhead computer with students of how to figure out monthly payment to pay off in a certain timeframe

b)    Students do the rest of the calculations outside of class

 

 

ASSESSMENT BASED ON OBJECTIVES:

 

a)     Count as two homework grades or one quiz grade

b)    Make sure data is presented in organized format.  Let student choose format.