Need some ideas for lessons and activities that will teach your high school students how to interpret the information on their paychecks?
Many students get their first job during high school, get their first paycheck, and have no idea what they are looking at. This provides an excellent opportunity to teach financial literacy and, of course, work on practical math skills. Personally, I’ve found that students really appreciate learning these skills. As a math teacher, it is very satisfying to see students enjoy learning to apply the math skills they’ve learned in my classroom!
How to Teach the Basics
There’s honestly no better way to teach students about the information they’ll see on their pay stubs, than having them look at some realistic pay stubs and analyze them.
I show them a sample pay stub and walk them through all the terminology and abbreviations they’ll need to know. We also discuss each of the taxes, especially Social Security and Medicare, because I find that many students are unfamiliar with these terms.
Prepare to see some shocked faces when students learn about all the different taxes they’ll have to pay! I often get some of the older students chiming in about how surprised they were when they received their first checks and saw how much they paid in taxes.
You can check out my resource for teaching about the differences between net and gross pay, federal and state income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and more here.
Practicing Interpreting Pay Stubs
Once they’ve learned the basics, you’ll need to provide some opportunities to practice. I have a few resources that will help.
Pay Stub Task Cards
This activity provides students with two sample pay stubs. They’ll work through 12 task cards that ask them to interpret the information provided on the pay stubs. There’s also a recording sheet for students to record their answers.
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Pay Stub Scavenger Hunt
This activity will get students up and out of their seats for some practice! This activity is self-checking. Students will answer a question about a pay stub and then look around the room for their answer. When they find it, they’ll move to that card and work on the next problem! My students enjoy any type of activity that gets them out of their seats.
You can find this activity bundled together with the introductory lesson here!
Want more Financial Literacy Ideas?
Find more ideas on my blog for incorporating financial literacy skills into your classroom here!
