Lesson 3: Ways to pay
Introduction
Time:
- Single class period
Materials:
Activity One: Review of Lesson 2 Homework Task
Activity Two: Ways to pay
Useful Links:
Introduction:
In our everyday lives we use a variety of methods to pay for the things we buy without giving it much thought. When buying a litre of milk you might pay with cash. If you are doing a bigger weekly shop you might pay with your debit card. Students will have come across some of the different ways to pay for goods and services (e.g. cash, debit cards, credit cards, direct debits, standing orders etc.) in Section 3: Lesson 1 and Lesson 2, when they looked at the services available to people with bank accounts. In this lesson, they will learn that different methods of payments suit different purposes and will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each payment type.
Step-by-Step instructions
Activity One: Review of Lesson 2 Homework Task
1. Ask students to return to their Lesson 2: Activity Two group and give the groups sufficient time to review their findings from Lesson 2: Homework Task.
2. Facilitate a whole class discussion about opening a bank account using student feedback from Lesson 2: Homework Task together with the detail provided in Teacher Resource Sheet: Opening a bank account information. Prompt questions may include:
- Did you find it difficult or easy to get the information? Why?
- What was the most surprising thing that you learned?
- What did you find most interesting? Why?
- Do you think that you would now be able to open a bank account?
Activity Two: Ways to pay
1. Invite students to take out a blank piece of paper.
2. Ask students to think of a variety of items that they have bought or were bought for them in the last month. They should record a list of these items on their page.
3. Divide the class into small groups.
4. Allocate one way to pay for goods and services to each group (e.g. cash, cheque, debit card, direct debit etc).
5. Invite the groups to look at their combined list of items bought in the last month and discuss the variety of ways that these goods and services might have been paid for.
6. Take feedback from a sample of groups, recording responses on the white/blackboard.
7. Invite students to identify any advantages/disadvantages associated with the list of ways to pay on the white/blackboard. Depending on your group you may wish to provide one or more of the following prompts:
Cash: Security risk to carrying cash.
Cheque: There will be a cost if you do not have sufficient money in your account when the cheque is presented for payment.
Credit Card: Costs might include high interest rate if you do not pay your credit card bill monthly.
Debit Card: If your card is stolen the money in your account is at risk of theft.
Direct Debit: You must make sure that there is enough money in your account to cover the direct debit, otherwise you might be charged a penalty.
8. Distribute one copy of Student Worksheet: Ways to pay to each group.
9. Invite each group to work together to complete the worksheet. They should look at the various ways to pay in the first column; in the middle column students should use their own words to describe this method of payment and give examples of when someone might use this type of payment; and, indicate whether or not a bank account is needed to use this way of paying in the last column. The first example – cash – has been completed on the worksheet.
10. Invite one student from each group to give feedback.
11. Conclude by explaining that different methods of payments suit different purchases. Most people use a variety of ways to pay for things in everyday life. However, it is important to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages associated with the various ways.
