Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government
(855) 411-2372
Submit a Complaint
Search

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.

Search for activities

Skip to search results

Showing 57 matches out of 136 activities

Showing 57 matches out of 136 activities

Filters applied
High school (11-12)

  • Mapping your money journey (middle and high school)

    Updated

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

    Students complete a short survey to find out about their current money skills and explore things they can do to manage money better.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Earn, Save and invest, Protect, Spend, Borrow
    Activity duration:
    75-90 minutes

    Building block

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

  • Storing my savings

    Updated

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

    Students read descriptions of common places to store their money and weigh the benefits and risks of each to decide which one(s) fit their financial goals.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Banking options, Choosing how to save, Investing)
    Activity duration:
    75-90 minutes

    Building block

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

  • Understanding jobs, teens, and taxes

    Updated

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

    Students read a handout about taxes and respond to questions to explore the relationship between working and taxes.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Earn (Becoming an entrepreneur, Getting paid, Making money, Paying taxes)
    Activity duration:
    15-20 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Understanding taxes and your paycheck

    Updated

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

    Students analyze statements about taxes to better understand how taxes affect people’s paychecks.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Earn (Getting paid, Making money, Paying taxes)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Becoming familiar with taxes

    Updated

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

    Students match tax types to definitions and then apply their knowledge to tax scenarios.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Earn (Becoming an entrepreneur, Paying taxes)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Understanding redlining

    Updated

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

    Students read a handout about the practice of redlining and answer questions about its impact on individuals and communities.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Saving for long-term goals), Spend (Buying things), Borrow (Getting loans)
    Activity duration:
    75-90 minutes

    Building block

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

  • Writing about giving

    Updated

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

    Students discuss giving to a charitable organization, research local groups, and write a persuasive letter about that organization.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Spend (Giving to others)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

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

  • Including giving in your budget

    Updated

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

    Students explore how creating a budgeting rule can help people include giving in their monthly budgets.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Spend (Budgeting, Giving to others)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

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

  • Researching the gig economy

    Updated

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

    Students conduct research about the gig economy, identify benefits and drawbacks to gig work, and reflect on whether gig work would be right for them.

    Key information

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

    Building block

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

  • Playing a saving and spending game

    Updated

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

    Students discuss the importance of emergency savings and play a game to explore connections between saving, spending, and unexpected expenses.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Earn (Making money), Save and invest (Building emergency savings), Spend (Budgeting, Buying things)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial habits and norms
    • 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.