Family and Community

Resources for Teachers

Check out these interdisciplinary activity ideas, and online resources for your classroom.

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Teaching Ideas

It All Adds Up

One of the things parents or caregivers have to do is to keep track of the family finances. Who keeps track of expenses in the household? Children could interview him or her to determine what different family expenses cost each month. These may include:

• rent or mortgage
• car payments
• food
• auto insurance
• utilities

Make a pie chart to show total expenses, and what percentage of the total is from food, rent, etc. Also, calculate what each type of expense amounts to over the course of a year. Share these results with the family bill payer. Is anything surprising about the results? What steps could your family take to reduce one or more of these expenses (using coupons, turning off the air conditioning while you're away from home, etc.)?

Ask grandparents or older neighbors about these expenses several decades ago. What did it cost to own a home? How much did they pay for an automobile? Try to calculate the percent increase of each type of expense.

Older children can expand on this by learning about inflation and the Consumer Price Index by visiting The U.S. Government Consumer Price Index Homepage (which includes an automatic inflation calculator) and Morgan Friedman's Inflation Calculator.

Younger children can expand this activity by creating a personal budget. What are their sources of income, if any? What are their expenses? Do they wish to give money to a local church or charity? Would they like to save money for anything special? How long will it take to do that? This budget might be displayed in the child's room or in the kitchen.

And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor... School-Business Partnerships

Nationwide, there's a lot of debate going on about commercialism in America's public schools. Those who support school-business partnerships argue that these alliances increase community interest in a school's success and supplement school budgets that are often too small to meet all student needs.

Those who argue against corporate involvement in schools believe that public education should be a "commercial-free zone" and that donated materials, equipment, and curriculum are little better than direct advertising to a captive audience of students.

What are acceptable ways for schools and local businesses to work together? What types of involvement make members of your community uncomfortable? Visit the Communities in Schools Web site to gain additional perspectives on school-business partnerships. Results may be shared with your local school board, city government, or others.

For more information about school funding, visit the PBS Merrow Report Web site.

PBS Online Resources: Sites to See

Economy/Business/Livelihood:

Livelyhood

http://www.pbs.org/livelyhood/
Explore how workplace trends (globalization, telecommuting, etc.) affect family and community life.

Escape from Affluenza

http://www.pbs.org/kcts/affluenza/escape/
How important is "keeping up with the Joneses" to your students? Investigate consumption and material spending.

Troublesome Creek

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/trouble/
Read about the problems faced by family farmers.

People Like Us: Social Class in America

http://www.pbs.org/peoplelikeus/
Use games, quizzes, articles, and more to learn about social classes.

Store Wars

http://www.pbs.org/storewars/
What happens when Wal-Mart comes to town? Learn about one community's response.

Need.com

http://www.pbs.org/weblab/needcom/
Interactive polls and discussion forums offer a closer look at people's responses to panhandlers.

Take It From Me

http://www.pbs.org/pov/takeitfromme/
Analyze the impact of welfare reforms on women and children.

Family Issues:

American Love Stories

http://www.pbs.org/weblab/lovestories/
Take a look at some unconventional American families.

Frontline: Juvenile Justice

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/
Learn about how communities across America are dealing with the problem of juvenile offenders.

Frontline: Little Criminals

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/little/
What makes very young children commit violent crimes, and how can our society solve the problems?

The Farmer's Wife

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/farmerswife/
Follow the struggle of one farm family to salvage a farm and a marriage.

Ready To Live (Jesse's Gone)

http://www.pbs.org/pov/jesse/
Read about artistic community responses to gang violence.

Just One Night

http://www.pbs.org/justone/
Investigate how a drunk driving incident changes life in a New Hampshire community.

Frontline: High Price of Health

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/hmo/
What health care options exist for American families? Frontline investigates.

On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/onourownterms/
Investigate how families across America are grappling with end-of-life care.

Immigration, Ethnicity, and Race:

Frontline: Secret Daughter

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/secret/
Read the personal stories of a white mother and mixed-race daughter who kept their relationship secret.

Homecoming

http://www.pbs.org/homecoming/
Take a multigenerational look at African American family farming in Georgia.

My American Girls

http://www.pbs.org/pov/myamericangirls/
Spend a year in the life of an immigrant family from the Dominican Republic.

Well Founded Fear

http://www.pbs.org/pov/wellfoundedfear/
Spend some time inside the minds of INS officials investigating asylum applications.

The New Americans

http://www.pbs.org/newamericans/
Follow the stories of recent immigrants from the Dominican Republic and Nigeria.

La Boda

http://www.pbs.org/pov/laboda/
Learn about life and marriage in a U.S.-Mexico border community.

The Forgotten Americans

http://www.pbs.org/klru/forgottenamericans/
Read about the struggles of Mexican laborers in the Colonias communities of southern Texas.

Twilight: Los Angeles

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/stageonscreen/twilight/index.html
Learn more about the 1992 L.A. riots through the work of playwright Anna Deveare Smith.

Not In Our Town

http://www.pbs.org/niot/
Take action against hate crimes in your community.

For Younger Students:

Mister Rogers: Build a Neighborhood

http://www.pbs.org/rogers/R_house/build.htm
Reinforce common elements of community in this online Shockwave game.

Mister Rogers: Picture Picture: Factories

http://www.pbs.org/rogers/R_house/picpic.htm
This online activity reinforces sequential thinking while introducing children to common industries.

PBS Kids Democracy Project: How Does Government Affect Me?

http://www.pbs.org/democracy/kids/mygovt/index.html
Click around this virtual town to see how government influences everyday places and objects in your area.

Learning Adventures in Citizenship

http://www.pbs.org/newyork/laic/
Use these online games, contests, and offline lessons to explore local history and the qualities of a good citizen.