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

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

DESMOS ACTIVITIES

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