Students will be able to incorporate a Biblical perspective of money into their daily lives.
Students will be able to compare/contrast the Biblical view of money with the typical view of someone in the Gold Rush.
 

Introduction—

1.      Write the statement “The primary (of first importance) goal of our trading is to make money,” on the board.

2.      Divide students into groups of 3 or 4 to discuss this statement.  Do they agree/disagree with it.  Why or why not?

3.  Compile student ideas on the board but do not give your own
               opinion.       

4.   Instruct students to take out their graphs and math journals. 
      Ask 2-3 students to show their profit graphs to the whole class. 
      Ask them to identify the graph slopes as increasing or
      decreasing and if the slope is a bad or good thing. 

5.  Instruct students to open their math journals to their last entry. 
     Remind them that you asked them to write down some ways
     that they could make more money.  Ask 2-3 students to read
     their entries to the class. Point out that throughout the whole
     simulation we have been trying to make the most money
     possible.  The statement on the board is correct if you look at our
     graphs and our journals. 

Lesson Steps—

1.       Ask students what they know about the cause of the Gold Rush.  Why did all the people leave their homes and families to come to California?  For example, people left because they wanted adventure or their owners (slaves) took them.  Write all suggestions on the board.

2.      Discuss as a class if it would be right to say that “The primary motivation of those who went to the Gold Rush was to make money.”

3.      No matter what the classes’ decision, they will probably decide that money was a major motivation for people in the Gold Rush.  Read the definition of greed.  Webster’s College Dictionary reads “excessive desire, especially for wealth or possessions; avarice; covetousness.”  Connect this definition to the motivation of Gold Rush participants. 

4.      Instruct students to take out their Bibles and use their concordances to find the words greed, covet, treasure, value, wealth, riches and money.  With a partner, make a list of the Bible reference and how the word is used in that passage.  For example, in Exodus 20:17 God says “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.  You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”  This is a command God gives to his people so that they do not desire anyone else’s possessions—this includes their money.

5.      Compile the Bible references and what they say on overheads (one per group).

6.      Look at the goals of the gold miners (on the board) and look at what the Bible says.  What do you see that is alike?  What do you see that is different?  Hand out the compare/contrast chart for students to fill in.

Closure—

1.      Think back to the beginning of the lesson.  We talked about the primary motivation of out daily trading.  Using what you have learned through the Bible, write down (in your math journal) three ways that you can adjust your trading to be more Christ-like.  For example, as a storeowner, I might say that I will give miners who have very little money a discount on their goods so that they will not suffer from lack of food or clothing.

2.      Now reflect on your personal [as a middle school student] view of money. Write a three-paragraph essay about your view.  In the first paragraph, explain how you use money and make money (if you do not use money or make money very much, explain how your family uses money).  The second paragraph should explain your thoughts about your money use.  For example, do you feel guilty because you spend money on clothes you do not need?  The third paragraph should explain what the Bible says about the way you spend/make money.  According to the Bible, what is good about the way you spend money?  Can you make that even better?  What is bad about the way you spend money?  How can you improve this?  See essay for an example.
 

Basic— Each student should write a three-paragraph essay on his/her personal view of money (see closure of lesson for more details).
Extension— Work independently at the learning center.
 

Based on group participation and effort, comparison/contrast chart, genuine effort to think of more Biblical trading practices, and the three-paragraph essay explaining 1) the student’s view of money and 2) sufficient reasoning to support their conclusion about the presence (or lack) of a Biblical perspective.