FMB - StartUP - Moving Day (32/2)

Here is the worksheet for FAMILY MONTHLY BUDGET STARTUP - MOVING DAY PLANNING SHEET: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzY9jTFcLEUWVFR1aVByakppd2c/edit?usp=sharing

Today we will make sure everyone has downloaded and made adjustments to their Family Monthly Budget sheets.  If you have not started the budget, here is the link to download it:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzY9jTFcLEUWTl84bk95dC1fdVk/edit?usp=sharing

Personal Checkbook Sheet Download:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzY9jTFcLEUWT1RFa0hoTVc0RU0/edit?usp=sharing

You will need to delete the CHECKBOOK sheet from your downloaded copy of the Budget.  I will show you how.  You need to add a Personal Checkbook Ledger Sheet (I will also show you how) to the sheet.

Today you will work out your Moving Plan and fill out your Checkbook.

YOU WILL CREATE A PURCHASE LIST ON YOUR 'DATA SHEET' PAGE.  Include all items purchased, where you bought them, and how much they were.  This includes travel expenses, airfare, insurance, household goods, furniture, and anything else you need to buy.

Your opening balance in your checkbook should be $134.50.  Your Parents, Uncle, Grandma, etc. is giving you a one-time grant for $2500 to help you get started.  It is your graduation present.  You need to complete the budget sheet (handout in class) and let me know all the things you are buying to get yourself started.  Follow these directions:

1.  First, you need to list where you went to college.
2.  Second, you need to list the address and city you are moving too.
3.  Explain how you are getting to your new city and what you are taking with you

•  You must find a flight, train, bus, etc. (Travelocity.com, Greyhound.com, etc.)  copy and paste your itinerary.
• What are you taking with you?  List any items you are taking with you.  EVERYTHING.  And have a plan to move it.  You are only allowed to have so much on a plane or bus.
• If you buy a car you need a quote for insurance (Geico.com) and budget for gas and maintenance.

You must now furnish your new apartment.  Find local stores (Wall-Mart, Ikea, Craigslist.org) to find the following items and budget for them:

1. Transportation:  Bike, Car(Insurance, Gas, Maintenance Apply), Transpass (Local Bus/Train)
2. Furniture:  Bed, Couch, Table & Chairs, Lamps, Desk, TV, Stereo, Computer, etc.
3. Household Goods:  Dishes, Pots&Pans, Silverware, Towels, Sheets&Blankets, Pillows, Plants, etc.

You will fill out the worksheet completely and use it to fill out the Checkbook on your FMB Sheet.  When you have filled out the budget, save it as an Excel Workbook so you can make additional changes tomorrow.  Save the Workbook to your personal flash drive or email it to yourself.

I hope you are having fun with this assignment and learning how to keep a budget while you are discovering how much things really cost.

Keep up the good work!!

- Mr. S

FMB - Google Map Day (32/1)

Here is a link to your responses for the CAREER DAY Search Sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjY9jTFcLEUWdFlEMDVCUGhnQTc5RjU0QWIxWmo1ZUE&usp=sharing

Today you will be creating a GOOGLE MAP of your new home and work area.  Please sign-in to GMAIL and then follow Google site to Google Maps.  Below is a link to a sample map that I created for myself.  It assumes that my first job out of college was teaching here.  I located our school, a local apartment, and I saved the route I take to work (use Get Directions and save the result to your map).  I also included most of the information that you will have to find for yourself.  See my example at the following link:

http://goo.gl/maps/aCRTS

Once you have looked at my map, your assignment today is to CREATE your own GOOGLE MAP that includes the following items:

Work, Home, Directions (Route) from Home to Work

You must also include the following:

GROCERY
SHOPPING MALL/CENTER
LAUNDRY/DRY CLEANER
COFFEE SHOP
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION (Closest Bus or Train)
CLOSEST MAJOR AIRPORT (In case you need to fly home to Philly)
HOSPITAL
DOCTOR'S OFFICE
DENTIST'S OFFICE
CHURCH/PLACE OF WORSHIP (Optional)
THREE (3) DIFFERENT RESTAURANTS
TWO (2) FUN THINGS TO DO

Please add me (hscribnercaa@gmail.com) as a COLLABORATOR and email me the link to your map.  In the Email with the link, you need to identify the following items by listing the Company and Customer Service Phone Number for each service in your new city:

PHONE COMPANY
CABLE COMPANY
NATURAL GAS COMPANY
ELECTRIC COMPANY
TRASH PICKUP COMPANY
WATER SERVICE
SEWER SERVICE
POLICE DEPARTMENT
FIRE DEPARTMENT
AMBULANCE COMPANY


This exercise will give you an idea of what types of things you need to look for if you move to another city someday to take a job or start college.  Even if you share an apartment/house with others, you should know this information.  Good Luck!!


- Mr. S

Reading Comprehension & Fun Questions

Julie's mother had five daughters.  They had the following names:

Jana
Jene
Jini
Jono
?

What is the name of the last daughter?
Email the answer to Mr. S!

Another one:

A man and his son are driving in a car one day, when they get into a fatal accident. The man is killed instantly. The boy is knocked unconscious, but he is still alive. He is rushed to hospital, and will need immediate surgery. The doctor enters the emergency room, looks at the boy, and says...
"I can't operate on this boy, he is my son."
So, the question is, how is this possible?


MORE FUN....

Answer this question in an email to Mr. S:

1.  A man is trapped in a room. The room has only two possible exits: two doors. Through the first door there is a room constructed from magnifying glass. The blazing hot sun instantly fries anything or anyone that enters. Through the second door there is a fire-breathing dragon. How does the man escape?

 2.
Every dawn begins with me,
At dusk I'll be the first you see,
And daybreak couldn't come without
What midday centers all about.
Daises grow from me, I'm told
And when I come, I end all cold,
But in the sun I won't be found,
Yet still, each day I'll be around.

What am I? 

3.  It fell from a star,
But not very far.
It seems to fly
Above you and I.
Look further down to see
Cousin Jay below us three.
Jump down further to see an empty space.
Tell me what "it" is, and where is this place?

 

8th Grade Project (31/4 - End of Term Project)

CALENDAR
Due Date          Project Requirements

5/1/13               Thesis Statement (Opening Paragraph)
                         Evidence of preliminary research (2-4 Articles)

5/17/13             Project Research/Evidence (8-10 Articles)
                         Rough Draft of Research Paper

5/31/13             Final Draft of Research Paper (2-3 Pages of Type Minimum)

6/10/13             PowerPoint/Multi-Media Presentations Scheduled to Begin


Project Description

This project is a culmination of all the skills that you have learned this year.  It is designed to incorporate all of your 9th grade subjects: English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Computer Science.

Each of you has already chosen a topic.  Your first job is to write a THESIS STATEMENT (Opening Paragraph).  Your project should address an issue that you are interested in, something you are curious about, but also something that you can reasonably address in a few pages.  You will do research on your own and at school at designated times.  Your teachers are here to help you organize and edit your paper, but the ideas need to come from you.

You will use a minimum of 8-10 references (magazines, newspapers, online articles, chapters from books, etc.).  You will need to show evidence of each source.  The final paper will be two to three (2-3) pages in length.  You will use 12-point font, double-spaced lines with normal margins.  In addition to the body of the paper, you will need a title page and a works cited (reference/bibliography) page.  You will have a THESIS STATEMENT, which will tell the reader what the paper will be about and a conclusion, which will summarize your findings.  These two paragraphs are in your own words.  No citations or quotes in the opening or concluding paragraph.  You may include pictures or graphs but they do not count as part of the 2-3 page minumum.

The other part of the project is a PowerPoint or Multi-Media Presentation.  This will include five to ten (5-10) slides (or equivelant media) that addresses the following points:

1. What was the issue?
2. What important information did you find?
3. What further questions do you have? 

 You will present the PowerPoint/Multi-Media Presentation.  Your grade for the project will be based on the research paper, the PowerPoint/Multi-Media Presentation, and your presentation of the material.

Project Specifics

Your paper must be:

12-Point Font
Times New Roman
Double-Spaced
1" Margins
2 to 3 pages long

A.  Title Page  

1. Title of Paper
2. Name of Student
3. Date of Paper   

B.  Thesis Statement (Opening Paragraph)

1. Tells the reader what the paper will be about in your own words.
2. No Citations.

C.  Body of Paper

1. Minimum of 8 to 10 References
2. 1 or 2 paragraphs for each major point
3. Graphs, pictures, etc. may be included but do not count as part of the 2-3 pages
4. Include information that addresses science, social studies, and math concepts related to your topic

 D.  Conclusion

1. Summarizes your findings in your own words.
2. No Citations

E.  Works Cited Page 

1. Cite all your sources alphabetically by author.  Include name of author, title of piece, source (for example: the title of an article and the magazine it came from), the date of publication.
2. Anything paraphrased in the paper gets cited without page number.
3. Any quotes need to have a page number.

Project - Research Paper Writing Rubric - Grade 8
Score = (Total Points Accumulated)
(4-Excellent;  3-Acceptable;  2-Below Average;  1-Unacceptable) 

A.  Clear, Well Organized, Well Developed Idea  (Score 1-4 points)

• Main Idea (thesis) is clear.
• Each paragraph has a clear topic and concluding sentence.
• Topic sentences in body paragraphs clearly relate to main idea (thesis).
• Supporting details clearly relate to topic sentences.
• Transitions are used.
• Introduction, body, conclusion provide logical sequence of ideas, leading to understandable explanation, instruction,definition, (or other expository content)

B.  Sentence Variation in Paragraphs  (Score 1-4 points)

• Lead sentence captures the reader's attention.
• Introduction participal phrase (Running with great speed, she won...)(Surprised by the party, she...)
• 2 Independent clases separated by a semicolon (Sam won the race; he is an excellent runner)
• Compound sentence. (Marti won the race, and Sam came in third.)
• Appositive phrase. (Marti, the best sprinter on the tam, won...)
• Intro. prepositional phrase.  (With a burst of speed, Sam...)
• Intro. adverb clause. (When Marti won the race, she...)
• Variety of sentence length.

C.  Word Choice and Figurative Language (Score 1-4 points)

• Strong verbs are used:  passive voice and verbs are not overused.
• No vague, overused, repetitive language is used. (a lot, great, very, really, etc.)
• Metaphor.  (Our house is a zoo)
• Simile (Our house is like a circus)
• Personification (The Statue of Liberty whispers a message of hope to new Americans.)

D.  Research Paper Requirements (Score 1-4 points)

• 8-10 or more sources were used; 5-7 sources may be found Online (Internet)
• Bibliography card format is correct.
• Research notes are on notecards or are highlighted (or underlined) on photocopies of source.
• Outline data is logical and clear; outline is in proper form.
• Title page is in proper form.
• Information from bibliography sources is cited properly (all information except "common" or "general" knowledge is cited parenthetically, and all quotations are cited parenthetically.)
• Works Cited page is a list of works cited in the paper;  it is in alphabetical order; 3 or more citations have been made in the body of the paper.
  

 E. Grammar, Usage, Mechanics  (Score 1-4)

• No Run-On Sentences
• No Sentence Fragments
• Subject/Verb Agreement
• Correct Verb Tense Usage
• No Use of Contractions
• Punctuation is Correct
• Capitalization is Correct
• Spelling is Correct

Project - Taking Notes    

As you examine each source, make a separate note of each fact or quotation you might want to use in your paper.  Use index cards when preparing notes.  Be sure to identify the source of the information on the listing (include the author's name and page number on which the information appears).  Try to summarize the information in your own words (paraphrasing);  use quotation marks if you copy the information exactly.  (This rule should apply whether you are copy a great deal of material or only a phrase.)  Give each listing a simple, descriptive heading.

Your listings will now provide you with the authoritative basis for your paper's content and documentation.  By arranging and rearranging the listings and using your descriptive headings, you may well discover a certain order or different categories which will help you prepare an outline. You may also find you need additional information, or that some of the listings may not be appropriate and should be set aside or discarded.  Use your THESIS STATEMENT to help you stay on track, and not to follow research to other topics or discussion that will distract you from your main topic/question.

NOTE CARDS SHOULD CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:

• Descriptive Heading on Top
• Quote, Note, Topic, or Specific Reference
• Source on Bottom with Author, Title, Page Number

Please take your time and make sure you are meeting all the requirements listed above.  This is an important part of the Crossroads Program.  More information will be listed later about the grading rubric for your PowerPoint/Multi-Media Presentation and the Presentation itself.

Good Luck,

-Mr. S    




 
 

Personal Monthly Budget Start-Up (31/2-3)

Please go to the link below and familiarize yourself with the document:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzY9jTFcLEUWTl84bk95dC1fdVk/edit?usp=sharing

On the first page you will notice it is a template for a family budget.  Today you will be entering your basic start-up information.  You have a job somewhere other than the Philadelphia Area based on your research on Career Day (31/1).  You must enter your personal information, find a job and list the address, employer, and job title.  Your next task is to find housing (apartment) near your job and work out transportation to work.  Over the next few days you will find out about utilities, services, groceries, and other costs to get changes to your plan and you will have to adjust your budget to reflect the changes.  Final budgets will be gradable. PLEASE SAVE YOUR BUDGETS AS MS EXCEL "WORKBOOKS" so you can keep working on them each day.  Eventually you will be graded on the following basis:

Grading is as follows:     (600 points Total)
     Career Day Google Doc Complete - 100 points
     Initial Budget Setup Day  -  100 points
          Download, Keep Updated All Initial Information and Data Sheet
          Costs associated with the move to new location
               Furniture, Travel, Housewares, Electronics, etc.
     Services & Utilites Day (Google Map)  -  100 points
          Create a Google Map with Work & Home Address
          Add Points on the Map for Local Points of Interest
               Doctors, Grocery, Mall/Shopping, Entertainment, Restaraunt
               Garage (Auto), Public Transportation, Route to Work (Method)
     Insurance & Investment Day Changes  -  100 points
          Renter's Insurance, Auto Insurance, Life Insurance, Health Insurance
          Stock Market Game Withdrawals
     Meal Plan & Grocery Shopping  -  100 points
          Weekly Meal Plan to include 2 "Date" nights and Sunday Family Dinner
          Cleaning Supplies, Housewares, Expendables, Etc.
          Online Grocery Order Submission.
     Final Changes & Submission of Budget (Email)  -  100 points
          Random Final Changes and Email to Instructor for Credit.
     Final Presentation (200 points Total)
          Powerpoint  - 100 point
          Presentation  - 100 points

Final Presentations of your completed BUDGET will need to include explanations to the class of where you live, what you spent money on, and how you saved and can tell the difference between expenses and discretionary income.

Good Luck!!

MR. S 

Career Day Is Here - Family Monthly Budgets Begin (31/1)

Today you will be responsible for not only finding a college and major you are interested in, but finding your first job after college.  YOU MAY NOT FIND A JOB IN PHILADELPHIA OR THE REGIONAL AREA.  You must find an "ENTRY-LEVEL" job outside the Philadelphia Area (Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, and Chester Counties are off limits).

Start your search by imagining that you are a student at any college in the United States that you wish to attend.  Go to the following website https://www.aftercollege.com/ and look on the right side of the opening page.  You will see a box that says "Get Started Today".  Select a College you are interested attending (SCHOOL).  Enter a (MAJOR) you are likely to study.  Set the (GRADUATION DATE) for MAY of 2013 and click EXPLORE NOW.

You may have to SIGN IN (Create A Free Account).  Use your class GMAIL and select a password you can remember.

Now you must choose a job that you are interested in.  Once you find the job you must research where you will be working.  Look up the company that is hiring for that position and where the office is.  You will need to find an actual, accurate address to use.  You must also copy the Job Title and Job Description for use later.

Everyone in class will start with $36,000/year in base pay.  This will be your pay after taxes and deductions so you can spend that money on living expenses and anything else you need to buy to survive.  We will discuss your purchases in more depth next week.  For now, once you know what you are doing for a living and where you are working, you are now ready to find an apartment.  You need to find a place to live near where you work, or someplace that will not cost a fortune to commute from.  Everyone must live outside the Philadelphia Area.  You may not live with family, but if you and someone from Crossroads have chosen the same place to work in (Same City or Area), you may share an apartment or living arrangement.  This will help your overall budget.  You must still keep separate budgets, but you can share the costs.  Depending on where you live, you will have to decide how much to spend on transportation for work.  You may use Craigslist or other Real Estate and Apartment Finder websites to find places to live.

Once you have found all the information above and written it down on paper or a Word/Google Doc to save, please fill out and submit the following form completely (The more accurate and complete your answers are, the easier it will be to do additional tasks for your budget):

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1p7xEGjupnxhzFprOUWFTwsKDHD43kPXer55wIKe9-0A/viewform

I was going to assign cities for you to find jobs in, but this is more realistic.  If you take this project seriously, you will be surprised as what you will learn about how much things cost and how keeping an accurate budget will save you money, time, and aggravation.  Previous students who complete this project correctly have enjoyed it and learned a lot about their future.  I hope you have fun working on it too.  You will present to the class your final budgets, so be careful and accurate.

Good Luck!

- Mr. S

MS Excel Payroll Project (30/3-4)

Today we will walk through creating a TIMECARD and POSTING to PAYROLL SHEETS in MS EXCEL.  You will be required to follow along in class.  At the appropriate time you will complete the work on your own over the next two days and show Mr. S in class.  If you require more than one class to complete the worksheets below, you must save the work to your flash drive as an (xls) file to continue working on it tomorrow.  When complete, you should know how to enter data on a form, manipulate the form to complete basic functions and how to automate the form by copying functions and formulas to additional cells.

Start by reviewing the following sheet of instructions either online or use the copy at your desk:

Payroll Project WORD Worksheet:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzY9jTFcLEUWMWl2RkNmSFp3cTg/edit?usp=sharing

Second, choose one character from Sesame Street to create a TIMECARD for.  Make sure that you evenly space out the character's hours evenly over the work week as if they had worked for a real company you operate.  Use the following link to download a blank form and adjust the figures to be accurate for your character:

PAYROLL TIMESHEET LINK:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzY9jTFcLEUWYVMxdnZpLVQtbmc/edit?usp=sharing

Finally,  Use the form below (download and open with MS Excel) to create a PAYROLL SHEET for the whole company of characters.  We will work on this in class.  Pay attention and follow along and you will be able to complete the work with little effort.  Call Mr. S over to review and grade your work when finished.

Payroll Project EXCEL Worksheet (Blank):
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzY9jTFcLEUWWGJzZGVvRWNEVjQ/edit?usp=sharing

See examples of blank and finished payroll sheets below.  Numbers in the active worksheet must be formulas, not just numbers entered alone.  The worksheet must be "automated" for credit.  Good Luck.

- Mr. S

Excel Payroll Timesheet - (30/1-2)

PAYROLL TIMESHEET LINK:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzY9jTFcLEUWYVMxdnZpLVQtbmc/edit?usp=sharing


ALL:

JOURNAL ENTRY:  After viewing the following articles and charts, what does the term POVERTY mean?  Find your block on the first link and find out about how many families in your area are living below the Federal Poverty level listed in the second chart listed.  Write 4-5 sentences reflecting on your thoughts about this reality!
Please review this article for your Journal Entry:  Philadelphia Poverty Figures (Click Link)
Federal Averages For Annual Income (Poverty Level) (Click Here For Article)

Today you will be working on Microsoft Excel and creating a time-card for yourself.  Please read the corresponding story to the number you are given in class to fill out your time-card for the week ending on April 14th, 2013.

Example Employee:  Rate per hour is $10.55.  Monday was a vacation day for eight hours. On Tuesday you worked for eight regular hours and added two hours of overtime.  On Wednesday and Thursday you worked eight hours, and Friday you worked for seven hours until you felt sick at your stomach.  You logged an hour of sick time.  You went in Saturday to make up for the time lost and added one hour of regular time and three hours of overtime.

Here are your scenarios:

Employee #1:  You make $20.25 an hour.  You felt sick on Monday and called out sick for eight hours.  You were feeling so much better the next day that you worked eight hours and then an extra three hours overtime to make up for your absence.  On Wednesday you could not be stopped again and put in an eight hour day and one hour of overtime.  Thursday you only were able to work seven hours, and Friday you worked eight hours and an extra hour of "flex" time at the normal rate to make up for Thursday.

Employee #2:  You make $14.50 an hour.  You arrived for work on Monday ready to go.  You put in eight hours and two hours of overtime.  On Tuesday you took a vacation day for eight hours of pay.  Wednesday and Thursday were regular days of eight hours each, and Friday you arrived late after two hours of sick time.  You finished the day strong and added six hours of regular time and an additional four hours of overtime.  Saturday you added four more overtime hours as well.

Employee #3:  You make $13.25 an hour.  On Monday you worked eight regular hours and four hours of overtime.  You took Tuesday as a personal day and clocked eight hours of vacation time.  On Wednesday you worked eight hours of regular time and added an additional two hours of overtime.  Thursday you were not feeling well and used eight hours of sick time.  Friday and Saturday you worked full eight hour days and logged an additional two hours of overtime.

Overtime for everyone is time and a half so multiply your hourly rate by 1.5 and you will have the overtime rate.  Sick time and Vacation Time are the same rate as your regular rate.

Take a look at your TOTAL PAY in the bottom right hand corner.  In your email  figure out what that number would be if you took out the following deductions:

• Local Tax:  4.33%
• State Tax:  3.07%
• Federal Tax:  15%
• Social Security:  6.5%
• Medical Coverage:  1.4%
• Retirement / 401K:  2%

Once you complete your time-card, email it to me and mention in your email what the total check would be after deductions.

Good Luck!!

- Mr. S

Stock Market Investment Game (29/4)

After we work on some basic Personal Monthly Budget items, you will know a little about how to invest your money wisely.  In anticipation of your lesson about Financial Literacy, and considering that April is Financial Literacy Month for Education, please review the following information on our Investopedia Stock Market Game.

To begin your investing journey, please read the following article:  Investing VS Gambling Article (Click Here) and write a brief journal entry (Weebly.com) about your feelings about the main point of the article.

Second,  here is a link to the Stock Market Basics Presentation from Class (Click Here)

We will be reviewing the following video together in class:  Investing Basics VIDEO (CLICK HERE)  and discussing how you can find stocks you might be interested in investing in for the project.  Use the following sites to help you pick stocks for the game:

MarketWatch (Wall Street Journal) Website (CLICK HERE)

MSN Money Top 50 Stocks (CLICK HERE)
Finally,  please click the following link and create an account in Investopedia.com.  You will use this site, and the $1,000,000 in your account to purchase stocks in real time.  Make sure you spend some time discovering how to use the simulator to BUY and SELL stocks.  You will be able to track your purchases and look at class rankings after the system updates overnight.  There will be some great prizes for everyone who participates and you can add some of the money in your account to your Personal Monthly Budget later in the program if you EARN MONEY over your initial $1-Million Dollar Investment. 
http://www.investopedia.com/simulator/Game/JoinPrivateGame.aspx?GID=225228&PW=caatech13

GOOD LUCK!!

- Mr. S

MS Excel Basic Quiz (28/4)

To begin, please enter the following five (5) equations into cells A1 to A5.  Do not enter the number labels, just enter the equation itself.  If you enter them properly, you should get the answers in the cells when you hit return.

1)	2*6+3-4/2-5+20/5*3+50
2)	(3+3-5)*(15-5)*10-99
3)	50/5-7*2+11+3*10/2-2+6*5
4)	4+5-7+8*5-12*2/8+6-3+20/2
5)	9*9-30/3+5-6+7-2+9*9

Second, type in the following spreadsheet below the equations, and format it to look like the sample below:

Instructions

1) Type in all text and numbers shown in the spreadsheet below.

2) Format all numbers as a currency.

3) Center the spreadsheet heading 'Sales And Produce Department' across the spreadsheet.

4) Format all text as displayed in the sample below.

5) Create formula's to display a total for each fruit.

6) Create formula's to display a total for each month.

7) Create a formula to calculate the total sales for all fruit items for the year to date

  

 

 

8) Extra Credit:  Create a Column to the Right of the Table to show the Average for each fruit Row.

When you are done, raise your hand to be graded.  Good Luck!!   - Mr. S