The lesson is broken into steps, finding employment, housing, transportation, banking, and budgeting.  All steps inter link and rely on the next to be fulfilled. 

This lesson will clearly involve more than one class.  This is an interdisciplinary assignment that should span over two to three weeks of 55 minute class periods. It requires the students to think critically and logically to get to the end result.  All findings must be realistic.

Students can divide into cooperative groups for certain tasks, like finding information on the Internet or helping each other figure out how to fill out a job application and resume correctly.  Job hunting and other tasks, however, the majority of work should be done independently to better prepare the student for real-life situations (They are not going to be able to take their friend on a job interview, so they need to get accustomed to doing things on their own now).

This lesson involves finding out what type of job the student is qualified for (or will be qualified for) within realistic terms.  If the student doesn't plan on going to college there is no way that it would be realistic to state that they would be a doctor and acquire that type of lifestyle right now. Keep in mind that this lifestyle requires many years of education, if they choose that path they need to figure the cost of  education into their budget.

Novice teachers and skilled teachers alike are qualified to teach this lesson, as we  have all at some time in our lives experienced these situations.   Role playing could be useful here.  Teachers could take the position of interviewer for employment, or bank official for a lending institution.  Our goal is to expose real-life circumstances to our students. 

Variations

If time permits, the teachers could carry this a step farther and allow the students the opportunity to go through an actual job interview depending on their age.  The student could bring their expertise into the classroom and tutor the other students on what it was like to go through the interview process (how to dress, proper posture, voice). 
Video taping could also be utilized for role playing. Students could act out interviews, depending on if  they are job or housing related.
Another lesson to add here might involve instruction on cooking and laundry activities.
In addition, skills at the grocery store would be  practical here, meal planning.

One teacher should be able to implement this lesson without any problems.  If any parents or aides are available to offer advice or expertise they are always truly welcome.  This would be a great time to bring in parents for career day activities. You could implement a field trip to local business establishments and apartment complexes to give the students an idea of what they can expect in these situations. If field trips are not feasible, a scheduled visit into the classroom with a possible slide presentation might be appropriate. This lesson could be taken a step farther and teach them how to manage credit properly, possibly a visit from a bank official would be encouraged here.
 
 
 

Evaluation

The student's progress will be determined upon their ability to carry out the tasks above successfully and realistically.  Their ability to function in the "real world" will be assessed by the depth of their  results in their budget.  The object is to be as real to life as possible, where they can actually use this plan later in life if they choose.  Below is a copy of the evaluation on the  student's page.
 

Conclusion

Your students will have a grasp of real-life situations when this project is finished. Keeping with the Sunshine State Standards we will make sure each student acquires the skills they need and learn to use them with practical application.  This lesson will have a ripple effect on many other facets of the student's life. It will instruct them how to proceed with situations that might have been too confusing to handle prior to the assignment. 
 
 

Credits & References

http://school.discovery.com/clipart/index.html
http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/k12db/
http://www.sunlink.ucf.edu - Hurwitz, Jane.  High performance through effective budgeting, 1st ed.   Pub. New York : Rosen Pub. Group, 1996

http://web.missouri.edu/~cppcwww/holland.shtml
http://cbweb9p.collegeboard.org/career/html/searchQues.html
http://jobstar.org/tools/resume/res-def.htm 
 

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ON THE WEB
Online Banking
Sunshine State Standards
Salary Calculator
WebCT
webquest/taskonomy   - clip art & information