15 Top Middle School Personal Finance Activities to Explore
Today's NGPF Middle School Tips post has one goal: get you the very best from the NGPF Middle School Course, quickly! I've highlighted 15 Resources: 5 Experiences, 4 Articles, 3 EdPuzzles, 2 Activities, and 1 Think-Pair-Share. You can use any and all of these during this semester to engage your middle school students in impactful discussions about personal finance, or even as a differentiator for high school students. Have fun!
5 Terrific Teacher-Guided Experiences
Maximizing student-driven...
My Classroom Podcast: Creating Classroom Culture for Middle Schoolers
⟶ Our Middle School Course Syllabus is an excellent way to start thinking about your middle school personal finance classroom.
My Classroom is a short NGPF podcast series devoted to supporting the efforts of teachers. Each week we will speak with different teachers who will share timely tips, resources, and teaching strategies that can be implemented immediately into the classroom. Click here to subscribe to our blog and receive each podcast, as well as our Questions of the Day,...
Curriculum Insider: 3 Middle School Lessons for the End of the School Year
As the school year is winding down, you might be on the search for fun and engaging lessons to do with your students that don't require tons of background knowledge and can provide meaningful information and interactions before the summer. Well, look no further! Below are THREE lessons from NGPF's Middle School Course that will do just that!
#1: MS-8.1 Preparing for High School
Before your graduating 8th graders leave middle school behind, prepare them with the need-to-knows so they're equipped...
Curriculum Insider: 3 Middle School Lessons if You're Teaching In-Person Again
Many teachers are returning back to the classroom to teach their students in person or in a hybrid fashion. We know how challenging this transition can be, so here are THREE lessons we recommend using from the NGPF Middle School Course that are perfect for in-person or hybrid facilitation!
#1: MS-1.1 Personal Finance Decision Making
As the first lesson in the NGPF Middle School Course, this lesson has students explore the behaviors and reasoning behind their money decisions. It's a great...
Curriculum Insider: Deep Dive Into The Middle School Money In Our Lives Unit
Before diving into core personal finance content, it's always helpful for students to first examine their relationship with money and the factors that influence their personal finance decisions. That's why NGPF's Middle School Course kicks off with a foundational unit called Money in Our Lives.
This unit is unique in that it's the only unit in the course that has THREE lessons (all the other units in the course have five each). This is because the unit is meant to lay a strong...
Curriculum Insider: Deep Dive Into The Middle School Prepare for Success Unit
Teachers using NGPF's Middle School course teach more than the tangible financial skills and concepts their students need to thrive - they also develop key mindsets and habits for school and career success!
One of its most unique units, Prepare for Success is the 8th of 9 Units in NGPF's Middle School Course. Through the course of the Unit, middle school students learn:
What skills are necessary to successfully transition from middle to high school [MS-8.1 Preparing For High...
Curriculum Insider: Top 5 Teacher Favorite Middle School Lessons
The NGPF Middle School Course was fully released in August 2020, and since then, we've heard from many teachers which lessons they've loved to used with their students. Whether you've already used a few lessons or you're just getting familiar with the course, we hope this list of teacher favorites will help you find your next favorite lesson in the course!
#1: MS-1.3 Your Future Life
This lesson, found in Unit 1: Money in Our Lives, has repeatedly come up amongst teachers...
Curriculum Insider: Deep Dive Into The Middle School Investing Unit
Imagine middle schoolers talking to their parents about how compounding returns can be a tool to help build a brighter future together... or imagine 8th graders heading off to high school knowing how to start investing... or imagine high schoolers bringing a working knowledge of stocks and bonds into class on Day 1 so you can host rich discussions about diversification...
You're imagining students who have taken a personal finance course in middle school from a teacher using NGPF's Middle...
Curriculum Insider: Deep Dive into Middle School Unit 2
One of the most popular units in the NGPF Middle School Course is Unit 2: Consumer Skills. In this unit, students learn about the following 5 topics:
Comparison Shopping
Coupons and Discounts
How to Read a Receipt
Checking Accounts
Different Types of Payments
Below, we'll deep dive into each lesson and highlight a specific resource that we think is especially engaging, informative, and fun to use with your students!
Lesson 2.1 Comparison Shopping
With the rise of online...
Curriculum Insider: 5 Ways to Use the Middle School Course with High School Students
As you may know, NGPF released its Middle School Course in 2020, and we were excited to receive many inquiries from high school educators on how they might be able to use the course with their students. Below, you'll find FIVE ways you can use the NGPF Middle School Course to supplement your personal finance curriculum with your high schoolers! (Bonus announcement at the end of the blog post!)
#1: REVIEW THE BASICS
If your students are brand new to personal finance or...
Mini Interview with Anne O'Renick: 3 Week Personal Finance & Parent Engagement Sprint!
Anne O'Renick is a middle school civics teacher at Orange Park Junior High School in Orange Park, Florida. Earlier this fall, we 'Zoomed' with Anne to learn more about her classroom, how she fits personal finance instruction into her already packed civics curriculum, how she engages students and parents together, how she uses her favorite tech tools, and more.
In a twist of fate (or did we plan this all along?), TODAY is the release of a new resource for which we owe inspiration in large part to...
Curriculum Insider: 5 Ways Teachers Customize the NGPF Middle School Course
We hosted two Virtual PDs over the last few weeks on customizing the NGPF Middle School Course. The ideas teachers shared were so good that we wanted to make sure YOU had access to them too! Below, we're sharing five key ways teachers are customizing the course to better meet their students' needs.
#1: Differentiating
Teachers' responses showed that the Middle School Course isn't just for middle school students - it can be used for high school and elementary students as well!...
Middle School Teacher Billy Mills Mini Interview: I Quiz the Biz Wiz
Billy Mills is a long-time educator with 10 years of experience in his middle school business classroom at Bloomfield Middle School in Bloomfield, NJ. Mr. Mills teaches a class called Biz Wiz where he engages his students in the wild, interconnected worlds of business and finance. I Zoomed with Billy for a mini interview, which was a treat! I'm thrilled to share his insights on the NGPF blog today for middle school teachers nationwide.
Sonia: What's the mix of in-person and...
Curriculum Insider: 5 Resources to Supplement the Middle School Course
As you're using NGPF's Middle School Course, you might be wondering how you can modify the material to better meet your students' needs. Whether you are looking to differentiate the content, dive deeper into specific units, or increase engagement, NGPF's high school curriculum is a great place to pull resources from to supplement the Middle School Course. Below, you'll discover FIVE specific resources we recommend you use!
#1: QUESTIONS OF THE DAY
Questions of the Day are the perfect way...
Middle School Teacher Tawnya Smith: Super-Prepared Virtual PD All Star
Tawnya Smith is a 7th grade teacher in her second year at Mrachek Middle School in Aurora, Colorado. Tawnya teaches an elective course called Life & Careers, about 2/3 of which is dedicated to personal finance skills. Among many other superlatives, she's a prolific participant in NGPF Virtual PDs.
I sat down for a Zoom session with Tawnya to hear about her classroom, how she's tackling the challenges of remote teaching, and how she's using NGPF's new Middle School Course. Here's a transcript...
