When you buy a home for $100,000, you pay $100,000—right?  On the list of important things for individuals to understand, the lesson presents the concept of interest rates and loan amortization using spreadsheets and online sources. Through hands-on calculations, they begin to grasp the concept of compound interest while looking at the long-term financial ramifications of buying a home.

Concepts

mortgages, loans, compound interest, debt, personal finance, interest rates

Show More Show Less

Additional Tags

social studies

Show More Show Less

Instructional Ideas

• Split the class into groups to work on the amortization table to assist learners who have difficulty understanding
• Open the lesson by showing how much homes are selling for in your area while introducing the concept of interest rates

Classroom Considerations

• Teacher may need to make hard copies of the Excel spreadsheet for use in the assignment 
• Requires online access to complete the lesson

Pros

• Resource provides link to mortgage calculator to use in lesson
• Provides mortgage amortization template link to help with the spreadsheet
  

Cons

• None

Common Core

RH.9-10.1 RH.9-10.2 RH.9-10.3 RH.11-12.1 RH.11-12.2 RH.11-12.3