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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Creating a buying plan
Ideal for: High school (9-10), High school (11-12)
Students practice creating a buying plan and apply this strategy to provide buying advice to others.
Choosing the best cell phone plan for you
Ideal for: High school (9-10), High school (11-12)
Students research the features and costs of cell phones and cell phone plans and use a decision matrix to compare options and determine the best one for their needs, wants, and budget.
Spending scenarios
Ideal for: High school (9-10), High school (11-12)
Students consider everyday spending decisions by working through real-world scenarios.
Reflecting on needs versus wants
Ideal for: High school (9-10), High school (11-12)
By thinking about their own expenses, students explore how differentiating between needs and wants can inform daily financial decisions and rules to live by.
Writing about giving
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.
Including giving in your budget
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.
Playing a saving and spending game
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.
Budgeting for fun in a rural setting
Ideal for: High school (9-10), High school (11-12)
Students practice budgeting by planning for a fun overnight trip to a rural area.
Bouncing ball budgets
Ideal for: High school (9-10), High school (11-12)
Through an interactive game, students share spending decisions they’ve made in the past and start to think about their spending habits in new ways.
Analyzing budgets
Ideal for: High school (9-10), High school (11-12)
Students analyze case studies and apply the 50-30-20 rule of budgeting.