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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Saving for now and later
Ideal for: Elementary school (2-3), Elementary school (4-5)
Students learn about the importance of saving, explore the difference between short-term and long-term goals, and then set their own savings goals.
Saving for this or that
Ideal for: Elementary school (K-1), Elementary school (2-3)
Students vote with their feet as they choose between two things they could save for and then reflect on the importance of setting goals for saving.
Starting small and saving up
Ideal for: Elementary school (2-3), Elementary school (4-5)
Students read a story about characters who save for something special and then create their own savings goal.
Stepping into savings
Ideal for: Elementary school (2-3)
Students learn how savings can increase at different rates by practicing skip counting and documenting their results on a worksheet.
Creating a presentation on 529 plans
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.
Learning how federal financial aid can help you pay for higher education
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.
Saving for post-secondary education
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.
Talking with your family about paying for higher education
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.
Bouncing ball money choices
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.
Drawing your own savings comic strip
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.