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

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

DESMOS ACTIVITIES

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