Students Learn How Far Their Money Goes in Project-Based Learning
This spring, a group of LaRue County 4th-grade students are getting hands-on experience with money. No, not real money — Hawk Bucks, reward tokens students can use on treats for good behavior.
Teacher Lacy Hatfield is helping students with both math and money in her upcoming Project-Based Learning activity. Her students will update the Hodgenville Elementary School Hawk Cart. They’ll be finding items, calculating costs, and assigning a Hawk Buck amount for each of them.
Hatfield said this project will incorporate comprehensive problem-solving and math skills from all four math operations her 4th graders learn. She’s excited for her students to take on leadership opportunities as well as applying math concepts.
“My goal for PBL is for students to take 100% ownership of the project; from planning, implementing the math, and then following through with the ideas so that it will happen,” Hatfield said.
“I am hoping that students find immediate gratification, take pride in what they are doing, and realize that knowing how to properly apply math is a real-world skill.”
While it might seem like 4th graders don’t need to focus on the “real world” just yet, laying the foundation at an early age is important for their futures. Many experts suggest that kids between 6 and 8 years old start understanding how money works. Money, in turn, gives students a better understanding of math concepts. Everything from percentages to quick addition can be taught using money.
Hatfield said she knows it can be tricky for her students to see beyond the end of the project, let alone after high school graduation. She believes projects like this one give students a foundation for learning that will last a lifetime.
“PBL will help show students the importance of what they are learning in the classroom, teachers are not teaching for ‘the test,’ but we introduce, model, and practice with students the skills that they will use to help better prepare them for their future,” she said.