Banking Activities

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Differentiate between different types of fees that banks charge when an account is overdrawn
• Apply fees to an account based on a given scenario
• Decide which fee option is best for their personal situation

In this activity, students will be able to: 

• Differentiate between a debit and a credit to their checking account
• Understand which types of transactions generate a debit, a credit, or no change in their checking account
• Move, up out of their seats, to physically demonstrate their account balance growing or shrinking 

Spanish materials are linked in the activity answer key under Materials & Prep

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Internalize how the Rule of 72 can be used to think about the power of compound interest.
• Use movement in the classroom to physically model the Rule of 72

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Choose the best payment options for different real-world scenarios.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Play the game Spent and reflect on their experience of living paycheck to paycheck

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In this activity, students will be able to:

• Determine what features they value in a savings account and then conduct online research to determine which accounts best meet their needs. They compare and then select which savings account would be best for them.

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In this activity, students will be able to: 

• Use an online simulation to practice checking balances, monitoring their account, conducting transfers, and paying bills using online banking. 

This activity can be completed in roughly 30 minutes. 

Available in English and Spanish

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Conduct online research on different kinds of saving accounts including OSAs, CDs, and more. Students will then use their knowledge to make recommendations on which type of saving account they think people in three different scenarios should use.

In this activity, students will be able to: 

• Understand what it means to be unbanked and underbanked
• Identify the percentage of households that are unbanked and underbanked in their state
• Examine why so many households are unbanked and the consequences of not having a bank account

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Practice reconciling their checkbook using a check register and a bank statement.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Brainstorm short-, medium-, and long-term savings goals.

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In this activity, students will be able to:

• Determine what features they value in a checking account and then conduct online research to determine which accounts best meet their needs.
• Compare and then select which bank would be best for them.

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In this activity, students will be able to:

• Research Ronald Read, the janitor who made over $8M through saving and investing. They will crunch the numbers for how he did it, and look for saving and investing tips they can use to match his success.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Read a checking account statement
• Understand what the various components of a checking account statement mean to interpret where their money goes

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Guess the price of common expenses that people save for
• Reflect on the role of saving in paying for large expenses

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Understand the criteria or rules that come with a checking account
• Avoid additional fees when using a checking account

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Work in groups to create a public service announcement convincing their target audience to save money in order to reach a goal

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In this activity, students will be able to: 

• Learn how P2P payments work, who uses them and for what purposes, which companies offer the service, and how to choose the best P2P app for them.