Introduction
The world as we know it is about to change. The race is on for who will be the first humans to inhabit the planet Mars. It’s anyone’s guess who it will be, but what is clear is that the ticket to leave Earth for an alternate planetary destination such as Mars will be expensive– easily half a million dollars. Will you be able to afford to go, or will you be left behind?
Task
In this WebQuest, you will:
- Learn about some of the wealthiest people in history
- Explore how much money you would need to save to become a millionaire in your lifetime
- Create a plan for earning money, using it responsibly for needs and wants, and saving for you future
- Imagine yourself as a successful entrepreneur who is able to afford the $500,000 ticket to Mars
- Learn about the conditions on Mars, and come up with a creative idea that leads to your success
- Develop a financial plan so that your financial health continues on Mars and you are able to afford to come and go between Mars and Earth as you please.
Process
1.) Wealthy people in history
Look through photographs and read about some of the wealthiest people in history. Choose three you find most interesting. For each person, write down their name, what they did that made them wealthy and 2 – 3 sentences about why you find him or her interesting.
2.) When will I be a millionaire?
Use an online financial calculator to figure out how long it will take you to become a millionaire. Then, write down at least three ways you can work toward becoming a millionaire.
3.) My own job and allowance chart
Create a personal job chart using internet resources to help you select age appropriate jobs. Determine how much you should get paid for each job and how often.
4.) My personal financial success plan
Develop a personal financial plan that includes a list of things you need to buy and things you want to buy. You will get ideas from working through pages 2 – 5 of a financial planning document (see resources). You will also get ideas about saving from playing Peter Pig’s Money Counter game.
5.) Autobiography of a Mars entrepreneur
Use internet resources to write a short story about yourself in the future. Pretend that you managed to save $500,000 to purchase a ticket to Mars, and you become a successful entrepreneur there. What is life like on Mars, and what clever idea have you developed that has led you to be so successful? How do you manage your money so that it is not all gone quickly? As an inhabitant of Mars, what do you need to buy and what do you buy for fun?
6.) Submit your work
Turn all of your written work from steps #1 – 5 in to your teacher.
Resources
1.) Wealthiest people in history
https://money.cnn.com/gallery/luxury/2014/06/01/richest-americans-in-history/index.html
https://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/
2.) Financial calculator and how to be a millionaire
https://www.calcxml.com/do/be-a-millionaire
https://bizkids.com/blog/how-to-be-a-kid-millionaire
3.) Create a personal job chart
https://thecraftingchicks.com/weekly-jobs-kids
https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/chores/the-ultimate-list-of-age-appropriate-chores/#gs.xnk5y4
https://www.rewardcharts4kids.com/chore-charts
4.) Develop a personal financial plan
Print and complete pages 2 – 5, assuming that you have 15 beans to be “spent” as your allowance: https://www.incharge.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Student%20Guide%20Lesson%201-Allowances.pdf
Play Peter Pig’s Money Counter Game: https://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/play/peter_pigs_money_counter#id_1617223775566
5.) Write a short story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf1wsu-_crE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMMPYkRrd4o
Evaluation
Rubric
| WebQuest Item | 3 Points | 2 Points | 1 Point |
| 1.) Wealthy people in history | The student wrote down the names of three wealthy people from history and 2 – 3 sentences about what each person did and what makes him/her interesting. | The student wrote down the names of only two people or did not include what all three people did or why they are interesting. | The student wrote a minimal amount of information about each person or is missing information about one or more person. |
| 2.) When will I be a millionaire? | The student wrote down three ways that he or she can start working toward becoming a millionaire. | The student only wrote about two ways that he or she can start working toward becoming a millionaire. | The student only wrote about one way that he or she can start working toward becoming a millionaire. |
| 3.) My own job and allowance chart | The student created a job chart with a reasonable number of jobs and age-appropriate jobs selected. The student also indicates how much he/ she should be paid and how often. | The student created a job chart, but it is missing some jobs or has jobs listed that are not completely age-appropriate. The student might have forgotten to include information about how much or how frequently he/she should be paid. | The student created a job chart, but it has very few jobs on it. It could also be that the jobs selected are not appropriate. The student does not indicate how much or when he or she should be paid. |
| 4.) My personal financial success plan | The student has completed pages 2 – 5 of the “Allowances and Spending Plans” packet. He/ She is also able to verbally discuss his/her experience playing Peter Pig’s Coin Counter game. | The student did not complete the “Allowances and Spending Plans” packet but is able to discuss his/her experience playing Peter Pig’s Coin Counter game. | The “Allowances and Spending Plans” packet is missing or the student is unable to discuss his/her experience playing Peter Pig’s Coin Counter Game. |
| 5.) Autobiography of a Mars entrepreneur | The student’s story describes a clever idea that made him/her a successful entrepreneur. It is based on factual information about Mars. The student includes information about how he/she spends and saves money so that it is not all spent. Part of this detail includes what items he/she needs and what items he/she wants to buy for fun. These items are based on the factual information videos about Mars. | The student’s story describes a clever idea that made him/her a successful entrepreneur, but it may not be based on factual information. The student includes information about he/she spends and saves money, but there are only a few details about what he/she needs or wants for fun.These items may not be based on factual information from the videos about Mars. | The student’s story may be missing information about his/her clever idea. The idea is not based on factual information about Mars. The items needed or wanted are also not based on the factual information videos about Mars. |
Conclusion
I hope you have enjoyed this voyage into money, financial planning, and imaginaning what life might be like on Mars. If you would like to find out more about any of the topics you encountered during this WebQuest, you can email me with your questions. You may also be interested in some of the extension links below. Thank you for participating in this WebQuest. I can’t wait to see where this journey has taken you!
Extension Links
The First 10,000 Days on Mars:
This short documentary explores how we might be able to colonize Mars in the not-so-distant future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3hPH_bc0Ww
Looking for Life on Mars:
This NOVA episode goes into detail of what the Mars Perseverence rover is searching for and how.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhtw7Dpntb4
Mars Rover Driver Game:
Print the game board, gather the materials indicated, and try your hand at driving the Mars Perseverence rover!
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/mars-rover-driver-board-game/
