|
www.LifeSmarts.org
LifeSmarts now offers Varsity (9-12) & Junior Varsity (6-8) Competitions!
New Spring Training Competition open
March 1 to April 15
View Webinar/Workshop Schedule
Salina High School South pictures with 2008 LifeSmarts sponsors
2009 Kansas LifeSmarts Sponsors
What
is LifeSmarts®...the ultimate consumer challenge?
LifeSmarts® is an
FREE educational opportunity that
develops the consumer and marketplace knowledge and skills of students in
grades 6-12. The content and
competition questions focus on five areas.
- Personal
Finance
- Health
and Safety
- Environment
- Technology
and Telecommunications
- Consumer
Rights and Responsibilities
Teens develop teamwork and leadership abilities,
self-esteem, verbal communication skills, and have fun in the process. This
program, like the other programs sponsored by the KCEE, improves decision-making
skills and helps prepare students for the challenges of adulthood.
The program complements almost any curriculum and can be used as an activity for classes, groups, clubs, and community
organizations. It is used successfully by
many FACS, Business, Gifted & Econ teachers. LifeSmarts®,
run as a game-show style competition, is open to all teens in the USA in the 6th
through the 12th grade. The Junior Varsity Program (grades 6-8) was
added in 2007-2008. There will be an in-person state competition but not
a national state competition. The Varsity Progam (grades 9-12) will have
regional, state & national competition.
Competition
Information
Varsity (Grades
9-12):
The high school Varsity competition is open between September 15, 2008 and
January 9, 2009. The first step is to register as a coach as soon as
possible. If you are unsure about your teams at that time then you can
create teams at any date prior to the January closing date. This will
allow me to know you are planning to participate and I can keep you up to date
on program information. The final quizzes determine qualification
for regional competition. The teams will be divided into three regions. Regionals will be held in Hays, Wichita & Topeka. The top teams from
the online competition will be
invited the regionals competition. Top regional winners will be invited to
Wichita to the state competition to vie for the state championship tentatively set for March
8-9, 2009. Kansas Champions at the high school level will
receive up to $2500 towards expenses to attend Nationals in St. Louis in April
25-28, 2009
REGIONAL VARSITY LIFESMARTS DATES (Teams must qualify online first)
Wichita - February 2009,
WSU Campus, Marcus Center
Hays - February 2009, FHSU
Campus, Student Union
Topeka - February 2008,
Topeka/Shawnee Co. Public Library
STATEWIDE VARSITY COMPETITION
Wichita - Monday, March 8-9,
2009
Junior Varsity (Grades
6-8):
The Middle School competition has been added. Online finals
competition quizzes can be taken anytime between September 15 2008 and February
27, 2009. There is separate registration for the Junior Varsity program.
To participate in the JV program, please please select the middle school program
link.
If you have teams participating in both levels then you will need to register
once with
the Varsity Program and once with the Junior Varsity Program so you will end up
with two separate coach IDs. The first step is to register as a coach as
soon as possible. This will allow me to know you are planning to
participate and I can keep you up to date on program information. Students will register themselves. There will be an in-person middle school state competition
in April in Wichita.
There will be no in-person national competition for middle school again this year.
STATEWIDE JUNIOR VARSITY
COMPETITION (Teams must qualify online first)
Wichita - April 2009
Spring Training Online Program:
LifeSmarts is now available online year-round! The Spring Training
competition opened March 1 and will remain open through June 15. This
online-only competition was developed so that educators could use LifeSmarts
during spring semester courses. Teams using the Spring Training site do not
advance to state or national in person competitions. Separate registrations
for coaches and students are necessary to use the site. High School students
will register at:
spring.lifesmarts.org
and the High School Coach’s Corner is available at
spring.lifesmarts.org/coaches. Middle school students will register at:
middle.lifesmarts.org and middle school coaches at
middle.lifesmarts.org/coaches.
|
ALL GRADES:
Remember to have your students take practice quizzes over and over. Teams must be a minimum of four
students and there is no maximum limit so you can have an entire class on one
team or more than one class. If your team scores in the top then you will be asked to send 5
students from that team to represent your school/group at the regional state
competition. No more than two teams per school will be allowed to participate
in the regional high school competition. Junior Varsity competition will be
limited to one team per school at state competition.
|
What do I do as a team
coach and is there any training available?
If possible, register to attend one of
the FREE workshops for coaches or join a conference call and get all the inside scoop on the
competition and see what helpful educational materials are available.
No cost or obligation to attend. Register
online, email
KCEE@wichita.edu
or call Angela at 316-978-5335
FREE TRAINING FOR COACHES
(adult coaches only) |
| LOCATION |
DATE |
TIME |
| Web Training |
September 11, 2008 (Thursday) |
5:00 - 5:45 pm |
| Web Training |
September 15, 2008 (Monday) |
3:45 - 4:30 pm |
| Web Training |
September 15, 2008 (Monday) |
9:00 - 9:45 pm
(yes, in the evening) |
| Web Training |
September 17, 2008 (Wednesday) |
4:00 - 4:45 pm |
| |
To Participate in a webinar - all
you phone to call in on a toll-free number and a computer with Internet
access. Yes, you can do these in your pajamas! |
|
Questions or need a different date/time training option?
Email
kcee@wichita.edu
Register
online nowl
|
Workshops/webinars are not mandatory. If you cannot attend a workshop, please be sure to register as
a coach right away (step 1 below) or contact Angela Howie at 316-978-5335
or email kcee@wichita.edu to let us know
that you will be participating so we can email the instructions for webinar
participation.
Coaches should take a minute to
look over the website section for Coaches. Players should also be
encouraged to start by taking as many practice quizzes as they can prior to
taking the final quizzes. Practice questions constantly change and you may
repeat the quiz as many times as you would like. Practice quiz scores will
be available to coaches.
Step
1: Coaches must
register in the appropriate division. Varsity is for grades 9-12 and Junior
Varsity is for grades 6-8. If you are going to have both a Varsity and a Junior
Varsity team then you will need to register as a coach in both divisions.
Varsity Coach Registration Page:
http://start.lifesmarts.org/coaches.
Junior Varsity Coach Registration Page:
http://middle.lifesmarts.org/coaches
You may
register your team(s) at this time. Be sure to set your competition date. This
date will keep the final online quizzes blocked until you decide the students
should take the final quizzes that determine qualification or the in-person
competitions. This should be towards the end of the semester or by January
9,
2009 for Varsity and February 27, 2009 for Junior Varsity
Step 2:
Each student must register individually in their division and take a LifeSmarts
pre-test. Registered players may take practice quizzes and daily quizzes
anytime. Practice quiz questions change each time and is a great way for them
to learn.
Varsity Player Registration Page:
http://start.lifesmarts.org
Junior Varsity Registration Page:
http://middle.lifesmarts.org
Step 3:
Teachers
take advantage of all the educational resources and current curriculum to help
prepare students as much as possible as a team. There is also a “Live” online
competition they use to help prepare and encourage participation. Details are
on the website.
WANT
TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION?
Step 4:
Have all students individually take the 3 final online quizzes at a date set by
the coach prior to the end of the semester or no later than January 9 for
Varsity & February 27 for Junior Varsity.
Qualification for regional competition is determined from online quizzes and the
average of the top 4 scores will be used. If you team is invited to a
competition you are allowed to pick your final team members (4-5) as long as
they completed the final quizzes.
Step
5: Wait to hear if
your team qualifies for regional competitions in Late January for Varsity.
Top JV teams will be invited to a state competition in April. The top teams from
the regional Varsity competitions will be invited to state competition in
Wichita March 8-9, 2009. State winning team will receive a grant of up to
$2500 to represent Kansas at Nationals in St. Louis on April 25-28, 2009.
How does the
program work?
Coaches (teachers or any adult sponsor) from all over the state can
register a team to participate in LifeSmarts® at www.lifesmarts.org.
Coaches & players may register at any time after August. Coaches can register
teams at that time or wait until a later date but teams must be registered prior
to the closing date. Teams must
register with their team ID and complete the final three on-line quizzes with
qualifying scores before the closing date for their grade level or they will not
be considered for state competition.
A coach's
guide will be provided to each coach at no cost after a coach registration has
been received. Coaches prepare
their teams for competition through the use of the FREE educational resources
online, practice quizzes on the
website, brochures, booklets, videos,
teaching guides, textbooks, websites, and other educational resources provided
by government agencies, businesses, consumer groups, and trade associations.
Most of these resources are free and are readily available to teachers.
Check out the FREE online resources for coaches at
http://www.lifesmarts.org/index.php?page=coaching_resources
VARSITY (grades 9-12):
At the
district level, the competition is Internet-based.
The students register as an
individual team
player with the appropriate team ID and complete the
individual on-line portion of the competition. The final three
quizzes may be taken at any time
within the competition timeframe. Quizzes become more difficult as the
player progresses. HINT:
Your team should spend
as much time as possible learning and taking the practice quizzes (questions
change frequently) before signing in as a individual team player with their team
ID to take the final three quizzes. Scores will be
calculated from the three final quizzes and they are made up of 20 questions
each. A team must have a minimum of 4 players to be considered for state
competition.
The top scoring teams with
from the internet-based competition will be divided into regions for 3 regional
competitions in February. Regional in-person competitions are setup in an
exciting quiz bowl type format.
Maximum of two teams per school at regional competition. Regional winners
will then be brought together for the State competition in Wichita to vie for
the state title. The winning team will receive financial assistance for travel & lodging to
represent Kansas at the national LifeSmarts competition April 25-28, 2009 in St.
Louis.
The regional & state competition have officials acting as
Question Master, judges, scorekeeper, and timekeeper.
Officials are adults in the community who support education and who have
special expertise in each of the subject areas.
JUNIOR VARSITY (grades 6-8):
The top scoring teams with
from the internet-based competition will be invited to Wichita in April to compete in a quiz bowl type format where the
state champion team will be identified.
Only one teams per school will be invited to the middle school state competition.
Who operates the
Program?
In June 2000, the
National Consumers League
(NCL)
acquired the National Coalition for Consumer Education (NCCE), which formerly
sponsored
LifeSmarts®. The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is a
national nonprofit organization that identifies, protects, represents, and
advances the economic and social interests of consumers and workers through
education and advocacy. NCL operates LifeSmarts®
and works in partnerships with other nonprofit
government and education groups in the states.
The Kansas Council on Economic Education coordinates
LifeSmarts®
in Kansas.
Please contact Angela Howie
at 316-978-5335 or email
KCEE@wichita.edu if you
are interested in preparing a LifeSmarts team or have any
questions or comments.
2009 Kansas LifeSmarts Sponsors
Return to KCEE Home Page
|
