Personal finance skills, like reading, writing and arithmetic, need to be taught at a young age. Basic skills taught now means fewer problems with debt and credit later.
Take Charge America is pleased to provide lesson plans for teachers to use with students from grades one to five. These lesson plans incorporate personal finance skills with children's books to provide a fun, well-rounded learning experience.
Lesson Plan Pages
Each grade level has 10 lesson plans for a complete unit of study. Each lesson is a PDF document that you can download which includes objectives, materials lists, worksheets and content standards.
Second Grade Lesson Plans
Students share the book Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday, by Judith Viorst, to learn about opportunity costs, goods and services, incentives and saving. They complete worksheets on decision making and choice and play a sorting game with goods and services.
Scarcity and Choice
Students share the book A Bargain for Frances, by Russell Hoban, to learn about scarcity, decision making and exchange. They complete a worksheet on decision making and choice, and play exchanging games.
Savings and Budget
Students share the book The Case of the Shrunken Allowance, by Joanne Rocklin, to learn about labor, earned income, saving, creating budgets and equivalent amounts of money. They complete worksheets on labor and budget.
Students share the book Arthur’s Funny Money, by Lillian Hoban, to learn about business, price and labor. They complete worksheets on projected income.
Money versus Trade
Students share the book Ox-Cart Man, by Donald Hall, to learn about barter and trade. They complete worksheets on the disadvantages of the barter system and play a game of money exchange in a market simulation.
Managing My Money
Students share the book The Berenstain Bears’ Dollars and Sense, by Stan and Jan Berenstain, to learn about money management and checking accounts.
Counting Change and Changing Coins
Students share the book The Penny Pot, by Stuart J. Murphy, to learn about choices, producers and consumers, and counting money.
Keeping Track of Our Money
Students share the book How the Second Grade Got $8,205.50 to Visit the Statue of Liberty, by Nathan Zimelman, to learn about managing money and using record-keeping tools such as ledgers to track income, expenses and balances.
Students share the book The Monster Money Book, by Loreen Leedy, to learn about budgets and comparison shopping.
Take Charge Today
Providing no-cost curriculum materials to junior high and high school educators across the nation, Take Charge Today (formerly Family Economics & Financial Education) is designed to teach students about money management skills and the financial planning process. Lessons can be taught independently, in topic modules or as a semester long course.
Take Charge America Institute (TCAI)
Developing research-based educational outreach programs, TCAI encourages students at colleges and universities nationwide to help improve consumer financial literacy and make informed financial choices in today's complex markets.