Honor Financial Literacy Month in Your Classroom – No Matter What You Teach!
Written by: Kristin Pierce
Whether you teach littles in elementary school or teens on the cusp of adulthood in high school, preparing students for their financial future is for all ages. Basic numeracy and skills like self-management and responsible decision-making are developed in early childhood. As students navigate middle childhood, they grapple with basic money management and even how peers influence spending habits. As adolescents and young adults, students are faced with impactful financial decisions like employment, paying for post-secondary education, and even filing taxes for the first time. During the month of April, honor Financial Literacy Month in your classroom with EVERFI’s no-cost resources!
“Financial literacy is a great way to tie your content to real-life experience.”
Build the Connection
Money is everywhere! Even if you teach something that is not directly connected with personal finance, you can build the connection for your students. Financial literacy is a great way to tie your content to real-life experience. The more often you’re able to connect what students are learning in the classroom to the world around them, the deeper their learning will be. Here are just a few examples:
- English/Language Arts: Use reflection questions to help students write about their first memorable experience with money or how financial literacy can help them accomplish goals for the future. You could use this in a unit about narrative writing or tie it in with goal setting.
- Math: Money is all about numbers! Use interest rates to teach multiplication or exponents, use coins to teach about decimals or place values, use taxes to highlight percentages, etc.
- Art: Do a unit about the business of art. Students can learn about entrepreneurship and then create a business plan that is connected to their chosen type of art (selling digital prints, designing with a 3D printer, etc.).
- Health: Highlight the concept of financial wellness and why it’s important, as well as how money and mental health are intertwined.
Your students are developing strong skills in your classes, but without financial capability, that hard work and knowledge gain could be rendered useless. By incorporating financial literacy into every classroom, we help students prepare for long-term success and wellness, regardless of their background or socioeconomic status.
“By incorporating financial literacy into every classroom, we help students prepare for long-term success and wellness, regardless of their background or socioeconomic status.”
Work Smarter
EVERFI offers free, ready-to-use online resources that are perfect for busy classrooms. Students can work through the lessons at their own pace, making them perfect for independent work time. Many teachers have students work on the lessons if they finish other tasks early or as an at-home assignment that becomes a springboard for class discussion.
Ready to start planning for Financial Literacy Month?! Create your account today and explore the resources to find the perfect fit for your classroom. After you’ve found your connection and added a course or two to your class, create a plan to implement it in your classroom. Perhaps you’ll have “Money Mondays” or “Fin Lit Fridays” during the month of April—you know your students best!
Seek Support
Kudos to you for setting your students up for a lifetime of financial wellness! We know that our standards-aligned, research-based digital lessons will be a perfect fit for your classroom and teach your students to thrive in an ever-changing world. If you ever have questions or need support implementing EVERFI courses in your classroom, please reach out to your local rep, Kristin Pierce, at kristin.pierce@everfi.com.
Resources
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