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By the end of middle school (about 8th grade), kids should be developing an understanding of financial responsibility. As young consumers, they should begin exercising critical analysis of advertising claims and understand consumer protection issues, such as unfair business practices and identity theft. Their ability to set and meet financial goals should include both short-term and medium-term goals. They should be able to make connections between career choices, education/training, and income; understand the more complex aspects of income and taxes — such as interest, dividends, government assistance, and deductions from take-home pay;  know how prepaid cards, debit cards, online payment options, and check-cashing services work; and understand the basics of investing, such as compound interest, the time value of money and the differences between stocks and bonds.

If you want to start a financial education program for students in middle school, expand on an existing program, or add financial education components to your lesson plans that build on these concepts, you have come to the right place. The Office of Financial Education has identified numerous curricula for middle school students. Much of it is free or low cost, and many can be downloaded directly from the Internet. In most cases, you can also visit the Office of Financial Education in Harrisburg to review the resources in person. All materials in our library have been reviewed by the Pennsylvania Office of Financial Education; however, inclusion in this list does not constitute endorsement of the materials.

And, be sure to check the Middle School Resources section for even more great websites, games and interactive tools.

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If your lesson plans include long-term investing, help students develop a mock stock portfolio as early as possible so they can follow their stocks throughout the course.

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With computer access, you can guide your students to corporate websites and identify contacts for them to communicate.

What Works in Middle School

Middle school students like games and activities that give them a sense of what it is like to have their own money and decide how to spend and save. Picking stocks to follow or exercises that focus on budgeting for a specific purpose are some examples.


quoteicon “For 7th graders, I incorporate personal finance in my lessons on meal planning. For 8th graders, it’s integrated in the career project and salary unit."

—Trish Dalecki, Family and Consumer Science Teacher, Laurel Valley Middle/High School


quoteicon “[Middle school students] see everything as plastic, and it’s confusing. For example, they have a hard time understanding the difference between debit cards and credit cards.”

—Lisa Golding, Family and Consumer Science Teacher, Good Hope Middle School and recipient of the 2008 Ripple Effect Award


Financial Education Curricula and Lesson Plans for Middle School

Curricula at a Glance
The Office of Financial Education’s Directory of Financial Education for Youth contains information on more than 30 of the most popular financial education programs for young people from pre-school to college age. The lesson-by-lesson index helps users identify what topics are covered, the cost of the curriculum (many are free), and other available languages.  Learn more... 

Biz Wiz (from the Biz World Foundation)
In this hands-on, real-world experience for grades 3–8, students play the roles of analysts, controllers, and traders to learn the basics of saving and investing. Working in teams, students set financial goals, analyze forecasts, create a diversified portfolio, track their investments, allocate assets and trade.
Learn more...

Biz World (from the Biz World Foundation)
Biz World lets children form teams to create their own businesses, design and market products, and more using a hands-on, interdisciplinary curricula for grades 3–8.  Learn more...

Citi Financial Education Program (from Citi)
With four lessons for grades 6-8, this financial education program is available in both an interactive online version or instructor-led. Lesson topics include “Where Does Your Money Go?” and “The Cost of Cool.” All sessions include lesson plans as well as instructor materials. Also available in Spanish. Portions available in Chinese, Somali, Turkish, Dari and Portuguese. Learn more…

Consumer Jungle (from Young Consumers Education Trust)
Teachers with access to a computer lab can have students use the Consumer Jungle site to learn about topics such as buying a car, picking out a cell phone plan and living independently. The teacher site has complete lesson plans along with assessment activities that correspond to the student section.  Learn more…

Federal Reserve System Resources (from the nation’s 12 Federal Reserve Banks and Board of Governors)
All of the Federal Reserve System’s educational resources are compiled onto one site, and you can search by school level, type of material, topic or keyword. All resources are free and many can be ordered in print form.  Learn more...

Financial Champions (from the 4-H Cooperative Curriculum Service)
Designed for 12–15 year-old students, Financial Champions consists of two youth guides and a helper’s guide that focus on money personalities and values, ways to use and save money, the benefits and drawbacks of credit, consumer decision-making and how to select financial services.  Learn more...

Financial Fitness for Life (from the Council for Economic Education)
The Financial Fitness for Life curriculum contains K–12 student activities, teacher and parent guides, a CD-ROM and a companion website. The materials, divided into four grade levels (K–2, 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12) and focused on a fitness theme, can be purchased through the National Council on Economic Education.
Learn more…

Get Ready to Take Charge of Your Finances (from Take Charge America and Family Economics and Financial Education)
This set of introductory lesson plans prepares students in grades 7–9 in preparation for the Take Charge of Your Finances curriculum aimed at grades 10–12. The 15 lesson plans use a fast-paced approach and numerous hands-on activities. An eight-week course recommendation is available. All curriculum materials can be downloaded at no cost; print copies may be purchased. Learn more...

Junior Achievement (from Junior Achievement Inc.)
Junior Achievement provides volunteers from the business world and community-at-large to teach the Junior Achievement curriculum in grades K–12, providing real-life experience with the lessons, including the Personal Economics program for middle schools students. Programs are offered through six Junior Achievement offices in Pennsylvania.  
Locate one near you.

Learning, Earning and Investing (from the National Council on Economic Education)
This 16-lesson print book curriculum is designed to teach kids in grades 6–9 the benefits of and strategies for long-term investing success. The corresponding website offers a wide array of current data, investment education links, downloadable classroom visuals, interactive lessons and classroom-tested print lessons for students.

Middle School Personal Finance Curriculum (from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta)
This site compiles free online tools, worksheets and glossaries from other sources on four subjects: goal-setting, budgeting, spending and credit, and saving and investment. It includes sample midterm and final exams and links to numerous consumer resources.  Learn more...

Money Math: Lessons for Life (from the United States Treasury)
The Money Math book is a supplement for middle school math classes that includes four lesson plans designed to teach middle-school students about personal finance using real-world examples. Lesson 1 covers percents, saving, and compound interest; Lesson 2 covers measurements, expenses, and budgets; Lesson 3 covers applying data, problem solving, earning income, and taxes; and Lesson 4 covers using computer spreadsheets and budgeting.  Learn more…

Money Savvy U (from Money Savvy Generation)
Designed to engage young teens in grades 6-10, each of the five lessons requires approximately 20 to 40 minutes of classroom time. Instructor materials consist of a scripted, animated presentation on CD-ROM. Students learn to build sound money management habits by practicing with the Cash Cache Personal Finance Organizer.  Learn more… 

My Classroom Economy (from Vanguard)
My Classroom Economy enables any educator to teach children financial responsibility through fun, experiential learning. It's a simple classroom economic system based on the idea that students need to earn school "dollars" so that they can rent their own desks. The middle school lessons and activities provide more advanced financial skills that are introduced in the elementary grades. Learn more...

Practical Money Skills for Life (from Visa)
This website features resources to help consumers manage their money through all stages of life including full classroom curriculum mapped to state standards, financial calculators, educational games and resources appropriate for preschoolers through college. Educators can download the lesson plans, order a free DVD or access the 9-12 grade course as a free iBook on iTunes. Learn more…

Stock Market Game (from the Foundation for Investor Education)
Starting with a virtual cash account of $100,000, students strive to create the best-performing stock portfolio using a live trading simulation. In building a portfolio, students research and evaluate stocks and make decisions based on what they have learned. Teachers have successfully used the Stock Market Game program to enliven core academic subjects — including math, social studies and language arts — and to teach the importance of saving and investing.
Learn more...

Teaching Money Applications to Make Mathematics Meaningful (from Corwin Press)
This resource helps teachers weave real-life financial issues and personal money management into standards-based secondary mathematics lessons. It relates everyday math to credit cards, paying taxes, stock and bond yields, mortgages, buying a car and more.  Learn more… 


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