First assignment : . ACTIVITY: Poverty and Making ends meet ( 60 minutes) Due Sunday by 11:59pm Points 6 Submitting a file upload Purpose: The purpose of this activity is to help you understand the real-world implications of poverty and how families cope with limited financial resources. By participating in a budgeting simulation, you will experience the difficult decisions individuals must make when managing a household with limited income. Additionally, you will reflect on the coping strategies employed by children and families living in poverty, as discussed in the readings and videos. Prerequisite: 1. READ: Income and Wealth Tasks: 1. Budgeting for One Month: Go to PlaySpentLinks her is the link https://playspent.org/to an external site. on your phone or computer. Once you are on the page, click on “Continue to Spent”. Click on “Prove it, Accept the Challenge”. Select a job based on your last name: A-H: Choose the Warehouse Second Shift option. I-P: Choose the Admin Office Temp option. Q-Z: Choose the Restaurant Worker option. Complete the simulation by making choices for one month, trying to stay within the budget provided. Make difficult decisions about how to spend your money and manage your resources. Once you finish the simulation (either by running out of money or making it through the entire month), take a screenshot of the final page. This is your proof of completion. Upload the screenshot to Canvas as part of your reflection below to receive credit for this portion of the activity. 2. Response: After completing the budgeting activity, develop a paragraph for each of the following prompts. Make sure to refer to the readings and videos for this week by providing examples and citing. Paragraph 1 (6-8 sentences): Budgeting Decisions How did you make decisions in the budget activity? What was the most difficult decision you faced, and why did you make the choices you did? How do your decisions in the budgeting activity reflect the broader structural inequalities (e.g., class, race, gender) that affect low-income families? Did you encounter any situations in the activity where these inequalities were apparent? Paragraph 2 (6 to 8 sentences): Coping Strategies What strategies do children and families use to cope with their situation? How do these coping strategies help families navigate difficult financial circumstances? From an intersectional perspective, how might these coping strategies differ for families from various racial, ethnic, or gender backgrounds? What additional challenges might marginalized groups face when employing these strategies? Each paragraph must: Include a thesis/introductory sentence that sets up the key ideas you will discuss. Provide examples from the budgeting activity, the readings, and videos to support your points. End with a concluding sentence that wraps up your thoughts on the topic. Include 1 in-text citation in APA format. This can be from the assigned reading/videos, or an outside source. At least one citation is required for each paragraph). Note: Your writing should be clear, concise, and academic in tone. Submission Format: Please type your assignment in a word processing software. Please make sure to save it as Word document (e.g., .doc or .docx) or as a PDF (e.g., .pdf). Make sure to include a screenshot of the game ending as an image in your document. Time Frame: The budget activity can take 5 to 10 minutes to complete. The videos and readings will take about 1.5 to 2 hours: 1. READ: Income and Wealth Writing your response may take between 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on how long it takes you to organize your thoughts and write your paragraphs. Criteria for Success: This assignment is worth 6 points, awarded as follows: 3 points for clearly describing the decision-making process you used during the budgeting activity, including examples of your choices and reflecting on the difficulties faced. 3 points for identifying and discussing coping strategies employed by families in the readings and videos, demonstrating an understanding of how these strategies help families survive in challenging financial circumstances.