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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

  • Banking basics card game

    Updated

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

    Students play a game to learn about common banking products and services and to consider which ones they might use now and in the future.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Banking options, Choosing how to save), Spend (Buying things, Paying bills), Borrow (Getting loans)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Communicating ways to pay for higher education

    Updated

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

    Students research ways to pay for their higher education and create a brochure to record their findings.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Saving for college), Spend (Paying for college), Borrow (Getting loans)
    Activity duration:
    75-90 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Comparing financial aid offers

    Updated

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

    Students compare college costs and financial aid offers for three schools and explore how the choices they make can have a financial impact down the road.

    Key information

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

    Building block

    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Creating a presentation on 529 plans

    Updated

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

    Students conduct Internet research on 529 plans and create a digital slide presentation to inform others about how these plans can help people save for future education costs.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Saving for college), Spend (Paying for college)
    Activity duration:
    75-90 minutes

    Building block

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

  • Learning how FAFSA works

    Updated

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

    Students learn about how the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) works by completing a simulation activity.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Saving for college), Spend (Paying for college), Borrow (Getting loans)
    Activity duration:
    75-90 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Planning your financial path to college graduation

    Updated

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

    Students use a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau college planning tool to explore college costs and options for covering those costs.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Saving for college), Spend (Paying for college), Borrow (Getting loans)
    Activity duration:
    75-90 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Playing a credit and debit game

    Updated

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

    Students play a game to practice and explore positive credit and debit card behaviors.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Protect (Managing risk, Preventing fraud and identity theft), Borrow (Managing credit)
    Activity duration:
    15-20 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Preparing to pay for education after high school

    Updated

    Ideal for: Middle school (6-8)

    After brainstorming ways to save for education after high school, students create a foldable that highlights ways to pay for postsecondary education.

    Key information

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

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Saving for post-secondary education

    Updated

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

    Students use an online compound interest calculator to explore the value of saving money over time for future education goals.

    Key information

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

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Talking with your family about paying for higher education

    Updated

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

    Through Internet research, students build their awareness of scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study options and then share their findings with a parent or guardian.

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