Featured Lesson Plan
How Much Will You Have When You Retire?
Lesson Objectives:
Students will become familiar with:
- How a 401(k) defined contribution retirement plan works.
- The ramifications of early versus late planning for retirement.
- The unpredictability factor in 401(k) Retirement Plans.
Materials Needed:
Time Needed:
- 10-20 minutes for students to familiarize themselves with the terms introduced in Part One of the Viewer's Guide and to look over the questions posed in Part Two.
- 60 minutes to watch the documentary.
- 10-20 minutes for discussion of the questions in Part Two of the Viewer's Guide.
- 45 minutes for small group work on the two charts in How Much Will You Have When You Retire?
- 30-45 minutes for class discussion.
Procedure:
- Discuss Discussion Questions one through four.
- Review all the definitions on Part One of the Viewer's Guide with your students.
- View the documentary.
- Go over the five questions in Part Two of the Viewer's Guide. (If you wish, divide the class into five groups, and have each group answer only one of the questions.)
- Give students the Student Handout: How Much Will You Have When You Retire?
- Divide students into groups of two or three to work on the charts in How Much Will You Have When You Retire?
- Conduct a large group discussion based on student responses to the questions at the end of How Much Will You Have When You Retire?
- Discuss the remaining Discussion Questions.
Methods of Assessment:
- Participation in class discussion
- Completion of the charts
- Written answers to questions