UnderstandinG
Personal Finance
Curriculum for
High School Students
Do you need a Curriculum that...
provides a foundational understanding of personal finance?
integrates the math skills needed to navigate real-world finances?
Includes everything you need to teach a class students Love?
A personal finance curriculum That connects financial literacy to real-world math skills
When I started teaching a Personal Finance course to seniors, I had ZERO resources that were meaningful to my students. I did have a set of textbooks from the late 90s… but they were so out of date, it was laughable. (There were actually lessons about ordering from a catalog with a paper order form.)
I found there were two types of curricula available: curricula that focused solely on presenting students with financial literacy information and vocabulary and then textbooks that focused on math with financial applications.
Sound familiar?
Students need BOTH financial literacy skills AND real-world math skills to become financially savvy adults!
Here’s why!
- Can you imagine seeing your pay stub but not understanding the taxes that were deducted?
- Or knowing you need to file your taxes, but not knowing how to calculate the amount you owe?
- Or needing to take out an auto loan but not understanding how to calculate your down payment, your interest rate, or how much you'll owe?
- Or knowing you need health insurance but not understanding how much you'll have to pay?
I’m sure you can relate to having to learn at least one of these skills the ‘hard way’ as an adult. But your students don’t have to!
The Understanding Personal Finance Curriculum gives students essential financial literacy knowledge, while providing hands-on practice and connections to the real-world math they’ll use every day — all in a way that’s engaging and fun!
Who is this curriculum for?
The lessons and activities were written with high school students in mind and should be accessible to the majority of students, including students with disabilities who attend the majority of their classes in a general education setting.
WHAT MAKES THIS CURRICULUM UNIQUE?
This curriculum connects financial literacy skills to real-world math skills so your students will not only understand financial literacy concepts and vocabulary, they’ll also be able to apply the real-world math skills they’ll need to manage their finances.
In addition to lessons that include Google Slides and guided notes for students, each unit contains a wide variety of fun and engaging practice activities, including stations, scavenger hunts, games, and projects!
Multiple independent research assignments are also included, through which students will learn the actual costs of buying groceries, renting an apartment in your city, having a baby, and more!
Numerous opportunities are provided for students to gain practice and experience with documents they’ll use as adults, including realistic pay stubs, tax forms, bank and credit card statements, account disclosures, and more.
included units, Lessons
& Activities
- Understanding Wages Lesson and Practice – Hourly wages & Overtime
- Understanding Wages Lesson and Practice – Salaries, Commissions, & Tips
- Calculating Wages Bingo
- Comparing Wages Scenario Tasks Activity
- Understanding Your Pay Stub Lesson and Practice
- Pay Stub Scavenger Hunt
- Wages & Paychecks Study Guide
- Wages & Paychecks Unit Quiz
- Understanding the Form W-2
- Itemizing vs The Standard Deduction
- Reading Tax Tables
- Completing the Form 1040
- Federal Income Taxes Scavenger Hunt
- Federal Income Tax Study Guide
- Filing Federal Income Taxes Unit Quiz
- Intro to Banks
- Understanding Savings Accounts Lesson and Practice
- Understanding Checking Accounts Lesson and Practice
- Checking and Savings Accounts Activity Stations
- Understanding Bank Interest Lesson, Practice and Bingo Game – Simple Interest, APY, and Compound Interest
- Setting Savings Goals Lesson and Practice
- Choosing a Bank Activity
- Banking & Saving Study Guide
- Banking & Saving Unit Quiz
- Renting vs Owning
- Buying a House Lesson and Activity
- Finding an Apartment Activity
- Housing Study Guide
- Housing Unit Quiz
The following activities are not part of any unit but can be completed at a convenient time during the year (such as before a break).
- Buying A Car – An independent research activity where students will learn the actual costs of monthly car payments, interest, and fees.
- Cost of Having a Baby Project – A fun, eye-opening project where students will research the costs of essential baby supplies, calculate the number of diapers needed, and more!
- Planning a Dream Vacation on a Budget Activity – A fun activity where students will learn the cost of planning a vacation while sticking to a budget.
An editable study guide and final exam are included. The final exam is also available in a digital format through Google Forms.
What's inluded in each unit
- A Unit Pacing Guide
- A student packet containing all the handouts needed for the unit (Handouts can also be printed individually for each lesson.)
- A teacher packet that contains resources and answer keys for the unit.
- Google Slides Presentations
- Guided Notes for students that pair with each Google Slide presentation
- Practice Activities and/or Projects – Each unit has a unique set of practice activities or projects. Examples of practice activities include stations, scavenger hunts, task card activities, self-checking worksheets, bingo games, and more.
- A Unit Study Guide
- Unit Quiz – Unit quizzes are provided both as a PDF and as a Google Form.
Ready to purchase for your classroom?
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can email me at cathy@ckmath.net to request a quote or submit a purchase order.
You can preview every lesson by clicking any of the lessons listed in the units above and then clicking ‘View Preview.’
Yes, updates are included as needed. The federal income tax unit is also updated yearly when new tax forms are released, usually in January.
Not entirely. This curriculum contains a variety of lessons and activities. There is a mix of teacher-led lessons combined with activities that students will complete independently for practice or exploration.
No, this curriculum does not include any homework. All lessons and activities are designed for students to complete in class, though you may choose to have students finish activities at home that they could not finish in class.
8th-grade students should have the math skills needed for this curriculum, but they may lack the life experience needed to contribute fully to discussions and get the most from the lessons and activities.
One license will be needed for each teacher using the curriculum. Additional licenses for multiple teachers can be purchased at a discount. Please contact me at cathy@ckmath.net with questions.
At a minimum, you’ll need access to a copy machine to make student copies, as well as calculators for student use. You’ll need a Google account (a basic free account is fine) and a projector to display the Google Slides. Some activities also require students to have Google Accounts and devices with access to the internet.
There are additional optional supplies that may make your teaching easier. These supplies are listed in the teaching notes supplied with each lesson.
The majority of the files in this curriculum are not editable. The text on the Google Slides is not editable, however slides may be added or removed. The quizzes and the study guides are also editable using PowerPoint.
Please email me at cathy@ckmath.net with questions!
The information provided in this curriculum does not, and is not intended to, constitute tax or financial advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available are for general informational purposes only. Information in this resource may not constitute the most up-to-date tax or other information.
This resource may contain information regarding third parties. Such information is only for the convenience of the reader. CKMath does not recommend or endorse any third party, and CKMath is not affiliated with, nor sponsored by, the United States Internal Revenue Services.
