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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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Showing 56 matches out of 136 activities

Showing 56 matches out of 136 activities

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  • Comparing higher education choices

    Updated

    Ideal for: Middle school (6-8), High school (9-10), High school (11-12)

    Students explore higher education options by comparing similarities and differences between two colleges near where they live.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Earn (Learning about careers, Making money), Spend (Paying for college)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Learning how federal financial aid can help you pay for higher education

    Updated

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

    After watching a video describing basic types of federal financial aid, students answer content-based questions about financial planning for college.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Saving for college), Spend (Paying for college), Borrow (Getting loans)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Understanding how insurance works: A case study about Lucy

    Updated

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

    Students read about how insurance works and then review a case study to see how insurance choices can affect personal finances for a young adult in a rural area.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Protect (Managing risk, Using insurance)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Reflecting on what’s worth saving for

    Updated

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

    Using the strategies of reflective writing, students create a personal statement sharing their hopes and dreams of things they would like to have or accomplish in the future.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Saving for long-term goals, Saving for short-term goals)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial habits and norms

  • Drawing your own savings comic strip

    Updated

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

    Students identify an important lesson about saving money and create a comic strip reflecting that lesson.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Saving for long-term goals, Saving for short-term goals)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial habits and norms

  • Bouncing ball money choices

    Updated

    Ideal for: Middle school (6-8), High school (9-10), High school (11-12)

    Students play a game to share how they think and feel about money.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Choosing how to save), Spend (Buying things)
    Activity duration:
    15-20 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial habits and norms

  • Understanding who shapes your money decisions

    Updated

    Ideal for: Middle school (6-8), High school (9-10), High school (11-12)

    Students read a handout and then identify how both they and the people in their lives make choices about money.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Choosing how to save), Spend (Buying things)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial habits and norms

  • 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

  • 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

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

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