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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 21 matches out of 136 activities

Showing 21 matches out of 136 activities

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  • Meeting your future self

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (4-5), Middle school (6-8)

    Students imagine their lives in 10 years and write a fill-in-the-blank letter from their future selves to their current selves.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Earn (Learning about careers, Making money), Save and invest (Saving for long-term goals)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes
    Available in Spanish

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial habits and norms

  • Picturing what you’re saving for

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (K-1), Elementary school (2-3), Elementary school (4-5)

    Students draw pictures of a savings goal and discuss the importance of saving money over time.

    Key information

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

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial habits and norms

  • Exploring saving and spending game

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (2-3), Elementary school (4-5)

    Students play a game where they earn and spend money to learn how our choices affect how we’re able to save.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Earn (Making money), Save and invest (Choosing how to save), Protect (Managing risk), Spend (Buying things), Borrow (Getting loans)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

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

  • Learning about coins

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (K-1)

    Students learn to identify the penny, nickel, dime, quarter, and their values.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Earn (Becoming an entrepreneur, Getting paid), Save and invest (Banking options), Spend (Buying things)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

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

  • Bouncing ball spending game

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (2-3), Elementary school (4-5)

    Students play a game to explore how they make choices about money and how people in their lives can influence those choices.

    Key information

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

    Building block

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

  • Learning about insurance

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (2-3), Elementary school (4-5)

    Students play a game where they do an action to match common types of insurance with the risks they cover.

    Key information

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

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Singing a song about saving

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (K-1)

    Students discuss the importance of saving money and sing a song about saving.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Saving for long-term goals, Saving for short-term goals)
    Activity duration:
    15-20 minutes

    Building block

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

  • Understanding our money choices

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (4-5)

    Students discuss and reflect on how they think and feel about money and how the people in their lives help shape those thoughts and feelings.

    Key information

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

    Building block

    • Financial habits and norms

  • Exploring ways to protect what’s important to us

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (K-1), Elementary school (2-3), Elementary school (4-5)

    Students draw a picture and answer open-ended questions based on a story about protecting ourselves and our property.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Protect (Managing risk, Using insurance)
    Activity duration:
    75-90 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial habits and norms

  • Bouncing ball protection game

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (K-1), Elementary school (2-3)

    In a circle time activity, students answer questions about how we protect ourselves, our money, and our property.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Protect (Managing risk)
    Activity duration:
    15-20 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.