Economics and Personal Finance are important topics for students of all ages and should be incorporated into the   standard k-12 curriculum. Educating kids about how to responsibly manage their finances not only improves their mathematical reasoning, but also provides them with meaningful life skills.

This week, we would like to share 3 new lesson plans based on Personal Finance. By introducing lessons that draw on the importance of saving and responsible spending, students will practice basic math, learn economic principles, and gain experience managing their finances.

Remember: The grade level we assign to each lesson plan to is not a requisite – feel free to use lesson plans from different grade levels than the one you teach, if you think they fit! Also, remember that you can adapt Voki lesson plans to fit your style, goals, or your students’ abilities.

Tooth Fairy Economics (Economics, Elementary) – Students learn about the value of currency and the cost of goods and services on a small scale. In this role play activity, the teacher will act as the “Tooth Fairy” and leave different amounts of change under each student’s pillow. Students will compare the amount of money they receive from the tooth fairy to the cost of the items that are available to purchase in the classroom. Next they will have to opportunity to exchange their money for an item within their Tooth Fairy budget. Students will create a Voki that explains how much money they received and what they could and could not purchase.

A Penny Saved (Economics, Middle School and High School) – In this lesson, students will learn about saving money by reading and discussing the comic book, “A Penny Saved,” published by the New York Federal Reserve Bank.  Students will learn how the choices they make with money can determine their quality of life. At the conclusion of this lesson, students will create a Voki that explains how saving money affects the economy and the importance of personal savings..

Let’s Buy a Car! (Economics, High School) – Students will look up cars online and calculate  which one is the best investment over an extended period of time.They will pick a car, consider different interest rates, and explain the costs over a 5 or 10 year period.

As always, we would love to hear how you are using Voki in class. If you have a lesson plan that uses Voki (or that can be adapted to incorporate Voki), please email us at lessonplans@voki.com.

Sincerely,

The Voki Team