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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Learning about budgets
Ideal for: Middle school (6-8)
Students learn about budgeting rules and then apply their understanding in an interactive budgeting activity.
Budgeting for needs and wants
Ideal for: Middle school (6-8)
Students explore the difference between needs and wants and practice making budget choices.
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.
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.
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.
Creating a monthly household budget
Ideal for: Middle school (6-8)
Students determine how to balance their needs and wants when budgeting for household bills.
Brainstorming household budgets
Ideal for: Middle school (6-8)
Students review monthly incomes and household expenses to practice making budget decisions, including about housing and roommates.
Calculating energy costs
Ideal for: Middle school (6-8)
Students calculate the yearly costs of operating energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs and compare them to the costs of using standard appliances and bulbs.
Using a budget to shop for a party
Ideal for: Elementary school (4-5)
Students learn about budgets and then use a budget to decide what food to buy for an imaginary party.
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.