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Find financial literacy activities

Find activities that can help you teach and nurture the building blocks of financial capability across the curriculum.

These classroom activities can be completed within a single class period. Each activity comes with a teacher guide and supporting student material, so it’s easy to implement whether you’re an experienced personal finance teacher, integrating financial literacy into another subject area, or supplementing your existing financial education curriculum.

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136 activities

136 activities

  • Figuring out how much to tip

    Updated

    Ideal for: Middle school (6-8)

    Students use common tipping percentages to calculate three tip amounts.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Spend (Buying things, Giving to others)
    Activity duration:
    15-20 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial habits and norms
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Getting a credit card and using it wisely

    Updated

    Ideal for: Middle school (6-8)

    Students conduct research to learn about how credit cards work and some tips for using them.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Borrow (Managing credit)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function

  • Giving advice about consumer protection

    Updated

    Ideal for: High school (9-10), High school (11-12)

    Students put their developing understanding of fraud and identity theft to use as they play the role of a consumer affairs advice columnist responding to letters from readers.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Protect (Managing risk, Preventing fraud and identity theft)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial habits and norms
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Investigating types of fraud and identity theft

    Updated

    Ideal for: High school (9-10), High school (11-12)

    Students identify different types of fraud and identity theft in real-world scenarios.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Protect (Managing risk, Preventing fraud and identity theft)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Managing credit card payments

    Updated

    Ideal for: Middle school (6-8)

    Students use a simple formula to calculate the true cost of items bought with a credit card.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Borrow (Managing credit)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Paying for a pet

    Updated

    Ideal for: Middle school (6-8)

    Students calculate the costs of owning a pet and practice choosing an appropriate pet.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Spend (Budgeting, Buying things)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Speaking publicly about consumer financial protection rights

    Updated

    Ideal for: High school (9-10), High school (11-12)

    Students research and write a speech focusing on a specific consumer right or consumer financial protection issue and related laws.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Protect (Managing risk, Preventing fraud and identity theft)
    Activity duration:
    75-90 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Understanding minimum payments

    Updated

    Ideal for: Middle school (6-8)

    Students watch a video and answer questions to learn how long it takes to pay off a credit balance when making only the minimum payment.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Borrow (Managing credit)
    Activity duration:
    15-20 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial habits and norms
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Brainstorming household budgets

    Updated

    Ideal for: Middle school (6-8)

    Students review monthly incomes and household expenses to practice making budget decisions, including about housing and roommates.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Spend (Budgeting, Buying things, Paying bills)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Budgeting for needs and wants

    Updated

    Ideal for: Middle school (6-8)

    Students explore the difference between needs and wants and practice making budget choices.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Spend (Budgeting, Buying things, Paying bills)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial habits and norms
Activities align with the My Money Five principles introduced by the statutorily created federal Financial Literacy and Education Commission.

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