On the Town

1. To encourage creativity in seeking affordable entertainment

2. To develop familiarity with search techniques and community resources

Subject Area

English Language Arts (K-12), Math (4-5), Social Studies (2), Science (1)

Introduce money management as it pertains to being out on the town with the following discussion points:

As a class, define the word "entertainment." Given that the idea of entertainment might be quite individual, encourage creativity and thinking outside of the box to create the definition.
Brainstorm the students' favourite entertainment activities and write them all on the board.
Where do you go to find events and activities in your town?
Ask students to consider a weekly entertainment budget.

Newscast

Length: 45 minutes
Materials: Newscast Handout, brochures and pamphlets from a local tourism office or travelmanitoba.com for ideas

Have groups of two to three students brainstorm two economical entertainment activities of choice. These may include anything such as bowling or a walk in the park with an ice cream.
Using the Newscast Handout, have students record their ideas as well as the activity cost, transportation cost, food cost and other costs.
Once students have completed their ideas, have them creatively present the ideas to the class in the form of an entertainment newscast.

Cheap fun

Length: 45 minutes
Materials: Cheap Fun Handout, brochures and pamphlets from a local tourism office for ideas

Break students into seven groups (one for each day of the week) and have them find a discounted activity within the community that takes place on their assigned day. Students can record their idea in the Cheap Activity for Our Day section of the Cheap Fun Handout.
Once complete, have all of the groups write down their activities on the board. The students can then fill in the Cheap Fun for the Week section of their Cheap Fun Handout, which will serve as a resource of affordable entertainment for every day of the week!

Extension

Put it on video: if students are feeling creative, they can do an on-location entertainment newscast, film it and show it to the class.
Try it out: within a given time period, have students try both suggested activities and modify their original idea according to the "fun factor" and budget.

Collaborative Feedback

Play an entertainment or community bulletin segment of your local news to give students a better idea of what a newscast could look like.
This activity is perfect to do before spring break. It will give students a list of low-cost activities to do while on holidays.

Pre- and Post-Assessment of Lesson

How does managing your money wisely when planning an activity affect your spending decisions?
How did managing your money wisely when planning an activity affect your spending decisions?