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S T U D E N T G U I D E

What is Inflation?

Explain the relationship between interest rates and inflation.

View this lesson at ThinkCERCA

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Table of Contents

Vocabulary Building

  • Map a Word

Direct Instruction Guide

  • Cornell Notes: Summarizing Informational Texts

STEP 1: Connect

  • Finding Your Purpose for Learning
  • Think-Pair-Share

STEP 2: Read

  • Pause and Reflect
  • Test Prep Strategy: Rephrasing Multiple Choice Questions (Optional)

STEP 3: Engage with the Text

  • Highlight and Annotate

STEP 4: Summarize

  • Write a Summary

STEP 5: Build an Argument

  • Collaborate: Share your argument builder

STEP 6: Create your CERCA

  • Peer Editing Activity
  • Writing Reflection

Throughout the guide, look for the laptop icon to find steps to complete online!

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Optional Extensions

  • Research Activity: Rising and Falling Value in the Stock Market
  • Inquiry to Research: Asking Questions of the Texts

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SYNONYM (SIMILAR OR LIKE WORD)

ANTONYM (OPPOSITE WORD)

PICTURE OF VOCABULARY WORD

VOCABULARY WORD & DEFINITION

PART OF SPEECH

V O C A B U L A R Y B U I L D I N G

Map a Word: Inflation

Use one of these vocabulary words to fill in the word map below: INFLATION.

Use a dictionary if necessary. Fill as many boxes as you can.

Understanding key vocabulary words will help you understand the reading. The words will "stick" in your memory!

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ROOT WORD or ORIGIN

SENTENCE USING VOCABULARY WORD

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D I R E C T I N S T R U C T I O N G U I D E

Cornell Notes: Summarizing Informational Texts

What is summarizing?

Summarizing is…

Why do authors use summaries in their introductions?

Authors use summaries to...

What makes a good summary?

A good summary…

Take notes on the lesson using the organizer below:

Watch the Direct Instruction lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com

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D I R E C T I N S T R U C T I O N G U I D E

Cornell Notes: Summarizing Informational Texts (continued)

Summarize and Reflect

In your own words and in complete sentences, write a 3–4 sentence summary of this skills lesson. An accurate summary will cover the lesson's central ideas and include important details to support those ideas.

Record your summary here:

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S T E P 1 : C O N N E C T

Finding Your Purpose for Learning

When you've finished reading the overview, answer the following questions in the space below:

What more would you like to learn about the relationship between interest rates and inflation? What would you like to know about regulation and how it is used to keep the economy in balance?

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Read the Topic Overview provided at learn.thinkcerca.com

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S T E P 1 : C O N N E C T

Think-Pair-Share

  1. Think: On your own, think about your experiences related to the topic.

  • Pair & Share: With a partner, group, or a trusted listener, share the parts of your response that you feel comfortable sharing.
  • Reflect: If time permits, reflect on your experience. What ideas did others share that you hadn't considered? How were your ideas alike?

Complete the writing activity in Step 1: Connect at learn.thinkcerca.com

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S T E P 2 : R E A D

Pause and Reflect

When you’ve finished reading, go back and find the questions in the text marked “Pause and Reflect.” These questions will help you connect the text to yourself, to other texts, or to the world around you.

Use the space on the left below to answer the reflection questions. Then, discuss your answers, noting how they were similar or different.

Record “Pause and Reflect” answers here:

Record discussion reflections here:

Read the text for this lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com

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S T E P 2 : R E A D

Test Prep Strategy: Rephrasing Multiple Choice Questions (Optional)

Multiple choice questions can be tricky! But, there are some tips that you can use to avoid falling for test-maker traps.

Take your time and carefully read each multiple choice question and each response. Ask yourself, “What is the question actually asking?” Then, rephrase the question and responses in your own words.

Practice rephrasing the questions that go with your reading below:

Question on ThinkCERCA

What is the question asking you to do?

Example: Based on this passage, what action is the author MOST likely to take the next time he sees someone who needs help?

Inference: What did the author learn from this experience?

Refer to the multiple choice questions for this lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com.

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S T E P 3 : E N G A G E W I T H T H E T E X T

Highlight and Annotate

In this step, you will analyze the text closely, then discuss your findings to begin developing reasoning for your argument.

  1. Read the text again, highlighting and annotating important details. Follow the prompts provided.

The highlighting prompts will help you with the final writing task. You will find evidence to support your own argument or informational piece, as well as models of excellence that will help you better understand a writer’s craft in narratives. The evidence you highlight will be available when you begin building your draft in the next step.

  1. If time permits, pair and share your highlights and annotations with a classmate. Pay close attention to this conversation! Your thinking is important reasoning you may include in your final draft.

Return to learn.thinkcerca.com to complete Step 3: Engage with the Text.

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S T E P 4 : S U M M A R I Z E

Write a Summary

Summaries help you process your thinking about a text and are often a great way to start off an argumentative or informational essay. A good summary shows you have knowledge about a topic.

Practicing summarizing also helps you prepare for the main idea questions posed on many standardized assessments. In addition, summarizing is a helpful skill for working with others, such as when you need to confirm your understanding of what someone else has said. That's a useful skill for all parts of life.

  1. ��Use the sentence stems provided to summarize the text.

Your summary should:

  • Be brief
  • Include the main idea and key details
  • Represent these ideas fairly and accurately �
  • If time permits, pair and share with a classmate. Read each other’s summary, and discuss how they are similar or different. What did you say were the main idea and key details? Were your summaries fair and accurate? Why?

Return to learn.thinkcerca.com to complete Step 4: Summarize.

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S T E P 5 : B U I L D A N A R G U M E N T

Collaborate: Share your Argument Builder

When you’ve completed the argument building step, share your results with others, and listen to how they responded to the same question. Ask questions and give feedback to help strengthen your partners’ reasons and evidence.

Share

Listen

Explain the relationship between interest rates and inflation.

Explain the relationship between interest rates and inflation.

1.

2.

3.

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S T E P 6 : C R E A T E Y O U R C E R C A

Peer Editing Activity

  1. Do a self-assessment of your CERCA. Use the online Rubric for the lesson on learn.thinkcerca.com, checking each box where you find evidence that you have achieved the criteria.�
  2. Next, collaborate with a peer or peers to read each other’s drafts. Again, use the Rubric to evaluate each other’s work.�
  3. Share insights into what might make your pieces stronger. Find two positive attributes and one area of growth for each draft you review.�
  4. Revise your piece using what you learned from your self-assessment and the feedback from your peers.

Complete Step 6 to create your CERCA at learn.thinkcerca.com

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S T E P 6 : C R E A T E Y O U R C E R C A

Writing Reflection

Before you submit your final CERCA, write a brief reflection describing your experience.

An area for growth for me on this piece or in my writing in general is…

The strongest areas of this piece of writing are…

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Through self-assessment and/or peer editing, I learned…

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Optional Extensions

The following activities can be used as optional extensions to this lesson.

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : R E S E A R C H A C T I V I T Y

RISING AND FALLING VALUE IN THE STOCK MARKET

Background

Companies like McDonald’s, Starbucks, Amazon, the Gap, and Target are publicly-traded. This means that shares — or small fractions — of those companies can be bought and sold on stock exchanges. Today, the major exchanges in the US are The New York Stock Exchange and The NASDAQ. Depending on a variety of factors, the value of those stocks go up and down, every day.

With this activity, track the price of a stock everyday for five days in a row.

Materials Needed

  • Newspaper stock market pages an internet stock market page like Google Finance
  • Notebook or computer
  • Stock Market Key Terms (see following pages)
  • Worksheet (see following pages)

Research

First, review the “Stock Market Key Terms” handout on the next page. Then, choose a company. Look at a newspaper or stock market page online to track the price of that stock for five days in a row. Record your findings in a notebook or on your computer. Finally, use the worksheet (see following pages) to answer a series of questions.

Share

Compare your findings with a classmate. How much did the value of your stock go up and down? Discuss reasons why shares in a company may rise and fall over the course of five days.

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : R E S E A R C H A C T I V I T Y

RISING AND FALLING VALUE IN THE STOCK MARKET continued..

STOCK MARKET KEY TERMS

Stocks are traded across global markets every day.

People can use newspapers or the internet to track

prices. (Photo credit: Lorenzo Cafaro, Pixabay)

Adapted from the US Mint

YTD % CHG stands for year-to-date percentage of change. In other words, how much has the stock risen or fallen compared to where it was a year ago on today's date?

52-Wk High shows the highest selling price of the stock in the last 52 weeks.

52-Wk Low shows the lowest selling price of the stock in the last 52 weeks.

Stock column gives the full name of the company.

Sym is the symbol used by the company on the ticker reports generated by the stock exchanges that track the trading of each stock.

Volume lists the number of shares sold (in hundreds).

Last shows the stock's price at close of business yesterday.

NET CHG shows how the price has risen or fallen compared to yesterday's closing price.

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : R E S E A R C H A C T I V I T Y

RISING AND FALLING VALUE IN THE STOCK MARKET continued..

STOCK MARKET WORKSHEET

Your Stock: _______________________

This graph from Google Finance shows prices of McDonald’s stock between May 26 and June 1, 2022.

  1. How many total shares were traded each day over the five day period?

  • What was closing price on the first day? The second day? The third day? What can you say about the stock based on its performance?

  • Is the closing price on the five days that you reviewed closer to the high or the low for the year?

*Note: these questions are taken from an activity developed by the US Mint. See the full activity here.

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : I N Q U I R Y T O R E S E A R C H

Asking Questions of the Texts

As you engage with texts in any subject, you can actively ask questions about the author’s purpose, intended audience, and occasion to understand the message. The table below provides examples.

Approaches

Example

Questions about the author

Is the author an authority on this topic? What was the author’s motivation in writing this piece?

Questions about the audience, purpose, and occasion of the text

Why was this article written? Why was it published at this time?

Questions about civics, economics, geography, and history

How does the Federal Reserve use monetary policy to promote the economy?

Questions about concepts and ideas

Why is inflation a hardship for many consumers and businesses?

Questions about self and community reflections

How does inflation affect the economy?

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : I N Q U I R Y T O R E S E A R C H

Asking Questions of the Texts (continued)

Use the table below to record questions about the text you read.

Approaches

Questions

Questions about the author

Questions about the audience, purpose, and occasion of the text

Questions about civics, economics, geography, and history

Questions about concepts and ideas

Self and Community Reflections

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