Ok so I remember playing this game when I was in school and for 3 years have wanted to do it with my students! So I researched online and ordered the game PayDay.. BUT when I got it in the mail, it was not what I expected... Sooo I decided to create my own, better, much more fun, updated version of this life lesson teaching game:) So if you are not familiar with this game, it is used to teach kids about money, budgeting, bills, careers etc. It is a more detailed version of the game LIFE. Ok so here is what I created and used with 4th and 5th grade...the kids loved it and were in total shock that it actually cost money to have power, water, a cellohone, dog etc... ( Because at that age they have no sense of the reality that life brings) This was a fun and eye opening experience for my students!!
Feel free to create your own version!!
So this is the original game... not good enough :)
The students were each given a career card.. on the career card it told what the career was and then there yearly and monthly salary. I passed these out at random and they varied in amounts!
After they saw the career card they were then hit with the reality of TAXES! Yes, I figured out an approximate amount for taxes for each career. Then the students listed the amount they were left with for the month on a sheet of notebook paper and we began the game! I also gave them each a calculator to total up the amount at the end.
This is the game board and I had each square covered and took them off one by one with dramatic.. da da da... wonder what's gonna be next moment! Ha the students loved the suspense and then would gasp at the amount that things cost. I gave them the option of buying a dog, cellphone, car/bike, and cable/internet. They also had a choice of housing... I did four various living arrangements.
Then just to add in we did a weekend trip that matched their career color. (yes I know the amounts were slightly unrealistic but remember it is a GAME)
So it was very interesting and amusing to the students to see what life is all about and the reality of BILLS! haha Some of them came out in the extreme negative (like -$900) and then some came out with like $1000 over... I am still not sure how they did that...So maybe there is some frugality among some youth today! Overall, this lesson was an eye opener to them and hopefully made an impact on their thoughts!! I hope this made sense... if I didnt explain it well then just shoot me an email and hopefully I can give you a better glimpse of the game..
