Teacher Guide MICHIGAN ADULT EDUCATION SUCCESSFUL PARENTING & FAMILY PRACTICES Table of Contents Introduction to the Teacher ...................................................................................................................... i Lesson Plans ..................................................................................................................................................1 Lesson 1.1: Family Budget & Frugal Spending — The Wilson’s Story .................................................................... 3 Lesson 1.2: Family Budgeting for Health Insurance– The Wilson’s Story, Part 2 .........................................5 Lesson 1.3: Creating Credit Card Chaos — Amy’s Story ............................................................................................... 7 Lesson 1.4: Baby Goes to College: Student Loans, Scholarships, FAFSA – The Santiago’s story ..........9 Lesson 1.5: Teaching Young Adults About Money Management — Bianca’s story. Part 1 ....................11 Lesson 1.6: Teaching Children about Money – Bianca’s story Part 2 ..............................................................13 Lesson 2.1: Dealing with childhood obesity – Karla’s story: Part One ................................................................15 Lesson 2.2 Dealing with childhood obesity – Karla’s story: Part Two ..................................................................17 Lesson 2.3 Dealing with Diabetes – Marge’s story .....................................................................................................19 Lesson 2.4 Creating an Environmentally Healthy Home – The Wilson’s Story, Part 3 ...............................21 Lesson 2.5: Dealing with Stress Issues – Kristina’s Story .......................................................................................23 Lesson 2.6: Dealing with ADHD kids / meds & nutrition– Madison’s Story ...................................................25 Lesson 3.1: Being informed of your child’s needs and services – Abe’s Story ..............................................27 Lesson 3.2: Being informed about your child’s needs and services – Casey’s Story (Part 1) ................29 Lesson 3.3: Being informed about your child’s needs – Casey’s Story Part Two .......................................31 Lesson 3.4: Out of School Learning – Barbara’s Story ............................................................................................33 Lesson 3.5: Parental Involvement/Parent’s Rights and Responsibilities ..........................................................35 Lesson 3.6: College Preparation –Kiana’s Story .........................................................................................................37 Lesson 4.1 Fostering your child’s self-esteem – Senora’s story .........................................................................39 Lesson 4.2: Teaching kids to value restraint. – The Thompson’s story ..............................................................41 Lesson 4.3 Parenting Styles and Discipline Procedures – Pam, Linda and Tara’s story ........................43 Lesson 4.4 Childhood Safety Tips – Jesenia’s Story .................................................................................................45 Lesson 4.5: Dealing with Peer Pressure — Cooper’s Story ....................................................................................47 Lesson 4.6: Raising kids with self-confidence – Khadija’s story .............................................................................49 Lesson 5.1: Sexual Abuse- Melissa’s Story .......................................................................................................................51 Lesson 5.2: Verbal Abuse – The Smith’s story ............................................................................................................53 Lesson 5.3: Emotional Abuse – Roger Smith’s story ................................................................................................55 Lesson 5.4: Child Abuse- Myrna’s Story ...........................................................................................................................57 Lesson 5.5: Intimidation – Kenny’s Story..........................................................................................................................59 Lesson 5.6: Gang Awareness – Javier’s story .............................................................................................................61 Lesson 6.1: On-line Safety – Craig’s Story Part 1 ..........................................................................................................63 Lesson 6.2: Parental Controls on the Computer - Craig’s Story Part 2 .............................................................65 Lesson 6.3: Cyber Bullying – Jamal’s Story ...................................................................................................................67 Lesson 6.4: Sexting – Raquel’s Story ................................................................................................................................69 Lesson 6.5: Family Friendly Social Networks - MaryAnn’s Story ..........................................................................71 Lesson 6.6: Texting While Driving – Sid’s Story ...........................................................................................................73 Answer Keys for Handouts ...................................................................................................................75 Handouts ......................................................................................................................................................83 Appendix ....................................................................................................................................................197 3.2: Parent Power 4.4: Child Safety Tips 4.4: Child Safety Brochure 4.4: Child Safety Kit 4.4: Child Safety Rules 5.6: Gang Awareness Guide Introduction to the Teacher Background Dr. James Heckman the Nobel Prize in Economics laureate from the University of Chicago has made strong arguments for sustained investment in the early education of children. His work in this field has convinced the Minnesota Federal Reserve Board that investment in Early Childhood Education is a sound economic development strategy. An economically based argument for education of children is especially powerful at this time. This workbook and the teacher guide developed as a companion piece were written in the midst of the worst financial crisis our nation has seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. As our nation copes with global competition the international assessments which place the United States far down on the list of nations with strong educational systems are becoming more problematical. The clear conclusion has been that if we are to compete successfully economically we must do a better job with the education of our children. Michigan’s Office of Adult Education has had these materials developed to address precisely the issue described above. This is why parenting and family practices were chosen for one of the sets of workbooks. Leaders also recognized that people just don’t have time to study these issues even if they are important. A second great need was seen as the necessity to increase the number of Michigan residents who complete classes and subsequently pass the GED Test. Student retention is a critical element in GED attainment. Studies have shown that students who persist are more likely to have better attainment of skills. It is thought that by including GED type skills imbedded within a parenting/family practices curriculum we can have the best of both worlds. Theory The idea is that reading, writing, and mathematics skills needed to pass the GED Test can be learned within a real-life family practices context. This dual focus is expected to yield a double-duty benefit to students. First, course content will provide an organized approach to the mastery of GED skills. Secondly, course content will also focus on issues central to effective family practices. The goal is to provide a themed course designed to help Adult Ed students become better informed as parents while they improve academic (GED) skills needed to function effectively in life, school and the workplace. Fully functioning families who provide the support needed for children to succeed in school and in life do more than simply teach children to read and write. What is needed is a safe and secure environment that will nurture the development of children. We know that for many families it is a struggle to provide such an environment sometimes because they were themselves raised in a dysfunctional family. It is for this reason that the topics in this course cover a wide range of family issues. The workbook functions as a springboard for discussion of issues facing today’s families while the exercises in the teacher guide provide practice on GED type skills. Topics addressed “Successful Parenting and Family Practices” is all about providing students with the tools to build healthy, effective families. There are six units in the workbook. Unit 1 “Sound Financial Practices” is clearly the most important issue in most Michigan families. Living within one’s means has become more and more difficult during these difficult economic times. Unit 2 which focuses on “Family Health” is another topic “ripped from today’s headlines”. Chronic health problems that result from