Financial Algebra Course

financial algebra course logo

DESCRIPTION

This free math curriculum is helping thousands of math teachers answer the age-old question, “When am I going to use math in real life?” with confidence.

The NGPF Financial Algebra Course engages students with real-world financial applications while maintaining deep mathematical rigor. Each of the course’s 10 units blends one core personal finance topic with one relevant math concept (e.g. Investing and Exponential Functions).

Grade Level(s):
9-12
Standards Alignment:
National Standards for Personal Financial Literacy, Common Core Mathematics
Format(s):
Google Drive, Desmos Activities
Assessments:
1 exam per unit, course diagnostic, and course final exam
Cost:
FREE, and always will be

Course Materials

Syllabus, Assessments, and more

Unit 2

Checking & Linear Equations

Unit 3

Saving & Systems of Equations

Unit 4

Budgeting & Systems of Inequalities

Unit 5

Intro to Investing & Exponential Functions

Unit 6

Investing Strategies & Exponential Functions

Unit 7

Types of Credit & Modeling Functions

Unit 8

Managing Credit & Fundamentals of Statistics

Unit 9

Paying For College & Statistical Analysis

Unit 10

Insurance & Probability

Resources

PERSONAL FINANCE RESOURCES

PLAY: Organize Budget Expenses What percent of Americans who have credit card debt won't be able to pay it off within a year? CREATE: Personalized Productive Gap Year Plan INTERACTIVE: Online Bank Simulator MOVE: Up and Down with Credit Scores INTERACTIVE: Invest with STAX! ANALYZE: Inequalities in Investing PLAY: The Bean Game How much more likely is a business to launch if the founder creates a business plan? How much does a texting while driving ticket increase auto insurance premiums? CALCULATE: Debt Avalanche v. Debt Snowball You Just Gotta Habit! RESEARCH: Professional Certifications FINE PRINT: Financial Aid Package INTERACTIVE: Living Paycheck to Paycheck ANALYZE: Dollar Cost Averaging RESEARCH: Credit Protections INTERACTIVE: Bummer! Do consumers send more money on Venmo or spend more money on Amazon? What's the average credit score needed to rent an apartment? MOVE: Your Tax Dollar in Action PROJECT: Credit Protections - You Be the Teacher What are the top 3 types of products/services Gen Z is most likely to splurge on? MOVE: Let's Make a Mutual Fund CALCULATE: The Math Behind Your Federal Taxes CALCULATE: Return on Your College Investment CALCULATE: How Much House Can You Afford? INTERACTIVE: Compounding Cat Insanity ANALYZE: Household Debt and Credit Report When the Mean is Nice PLAY: Roll with the Market If you invested $1,000 in Netflix stock 10 years ago, what would it be worth now? CALCULATE: The Cost of Auto Loans MOVE: Credit Musical Chairs What percent of new businesses are still operating after 10 years? MOVE: Inflation Over Time What is the average credit card debt held by Gen Z? PLAY: Types of Car Insurance PLAY: Budget Frenzy! ANALYZE: A FAFSA Submission Summary CALCULATE: Impact of Credit Score on Loans FINE PRINT: Schumer Box Which savings strategy is most effective? COMPARE: Which Repayment Option is Best? FINE PRINT: Checking Account Statement MOVE: What Determines Your Insurance Premium? MOVE: Types of Employment What percent of students receive scholarships or grants for college? COMPARE: Types of Savings Accounts What source of funding is used most often to start new businesses? Over a recent 20 year period, what percent of pros investing in large companies "beat the market?" PLAY: It Costs HOW Much?

DESMOS ACTIVITIES

DESMOS: Card Sort: Four Views of a Function DESMOS: Card Sort: Linear Equations in Standard Form DESMOS: Marbleslides: Exploring Exponentials DESMOS: Systems of Two Linear Equations DESMOS: Linear Equations from Checking Word Problems DESMOS: Growth Factor and Investments DESMOS: Card Sort: Independent and Dependent Events DESMOS: Exploring Tax Rates by Income Level and Tax Type DESMOS: Exploring State and Local Tax Rates DESMOS: Card Sort: Sampling Methods DESMOS: College Sticker Price and ACT Scores DESMOS: Card Sort: Linear Systems DESMOS: Future Value of a Periodic Investment DESMOS: Comparing the Cost of Different Student Loans DESMOS: Cart Sort: Graphing Linear Inequalities and Income DESMOS: Recursive Formulas: Paying Down Student Loans DESMOS: Comparing Funds Using Compound Annual Growth Rate DESMOS: The (Awesome) Coordinate Plane Activity DESMOS: Real World Linear Inequalities DESMOS: Exponential Growth in Circles DESMOS: Exponential Regression in Investing DESMOS: Prize Wheel Puzzle DESMOS: Linear Equations in Standard Form DESMOS: Piecewise Functions: Calculating Effective Income Tax Rates DESMOS: Credit Dot Plots DESMOS: Writing Linear Equations and Checking DESMOS: Graphs of Piecewise Functions DESMOS: Polygraph: Guess the Distribution DESMOS: Complex Systems of Inequalities DESMOS: Card Sort: Matching Recursive Sequences DESMOS: Investing and Exponential Change DESMOS: Recursive Formulas: Paying Down an Auto Loan DESMOS: Piecewise Functions: FICA Tax Rates DESMOS: Growth of Savings vs Investments DESMOS: Chance Experiments DESMOS: Linear Growth Patterns DESMOS: Create a Histogram DESMOS: Histograms and Box Plots of Housing Costs DESMOS: Piecewise Functions: Introducing Marginal and Effective Tax Rates DESMOS: Card Sort: Conditional Probability DESMOS: Writing and Graphing a System of Linear Equations DESMOS: Graphing Systems of Equations with Savings Balances DESMOS: Exponential vs Linear Patterns DESMOS: Writing Equations in Standard Form DESMOS: The Impact of Investing Fees on Exponential Growth DESMOS: Point Collector: Lines DESMOS: OLS Regression and College Costs