Educator Resources

Curriculum and Resources

• Teaching Children Money Habits for Life (publication) — University of Minnesota Extension — How to teach children about money starting when they are young.
• Allowance and Alternatives (publication) — University of Minnesota Extension — (publication) Be consistent with children about earning, spending, sharing, saving, and borrowing money.
• Minnesota Council on Economic Education (website) — University of Minnesota — Building economic and financial understanding for life.
• Reading Makes Cents (curriculum and web resources) — National 4-H — A collection of 53 experiential activities developed around exemplary children's literature that explore ideas, activities, and strategies that help children learn how to earn, save, share, and spend money. Designed for youth in grades 3-5.
• Consumer Critter Crew (leader's guide) — Texas AgriLife Extension Service — Program teaches children about the value of money and how to be wise consumers.
• Consumer Savvy (fact sheets and web site) — National 4-H — Youth spend $175 billion annually. Help them become informed and responsible consumers.
• National Council on Economic Education (website) — Promoting economic literacy with students and their teachers.
• Financial Fitness for Life (school-based curricula) — National Council on Economic Education — K-12 students apply economics and decision-making skills to the real world of managing money.
• Elementary School Lesson Plans (store) — National Council on Economic Education — Lesson Plans for teaching economics, personal finance and entrepreneurship to k-12 students
• Money on the Bookshelf (online guide) — University of Nevada Cooperative Extension — Read children’s book with your child and use Parent Guides to discuss money.
• Money Savvy Kids (curriculum) — Money Savvy Generation — Basic personal finance curriculum for elementary grades.
• Money Sense for your Children (home study) — University of Nevada Cooperative Extension — Lessons: allowances, where money comes from, children and advertising, saving, spending plans.
• Thrive by Five (website) — Credit Union National Association and Washington Early Learning Fund — Goal is for children, birth to five, to experience positive early learning.
• Junior Achievement (curriculum) — Students learn the basic concepts of business and economics, through hands-on experience.
• Jump Start (website) — Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy — Ensuring that basic personal financial management skills are attained during the K-12.
• Credit Union National Association (website) — Premier national trade association serving credit unions. Includes Financial Literacy.
• Money $marts (website) — Girl Scouts — A personal finance project resource guide: earn, save, spend, invest.

Research

• Youth and Money (website) — University of Minnesota Extension — Find a wealth of on-line resources to teach financial education to youth.
• Teacher Resources Education Search Tool (online store) — Federal Reserve Education — The curriculum search tool facilitates integrating Fed education materials into the classroom.
• Jump $tart (website) — Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy — Ensuring that basic personal financial management skills are attained during the K-12.

Curriculum

• Youth Issues: Affluenza (lesson plan) — University of Minnesota Extension — Teach a lesson on affluenza, the epidemic related to the dogged pursuit of the American dream, to youth.
• Be the “E”—Entrepreneurship (curriculum) — National 4-H — Learn how to own your business, be your own boss, make money…
• Consumer Savvy (curriculum) — National 4-H — See Consumer Roadmap for grades 9-12 plus a helper’s guide
• Financial Champions (curriculum) — National 4-H — Experiential learning with youth guides, helper's guide, and an interactive web game
• Money Smart (website) — Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. — FDIC training helps adults outside the financial mainstream enhance their money skills
• Hands on Banking (website) — Wells Fargo — A fun way to learn basics of smart money management.
• Money Math: Lessons for Life (curriculum) — U.S. Department of the Treasury — Students grades 7-9 learn math concepts using real-life examples from personal finance
• NEFE High School Financial Planning Program (website) — National Endowment for Financial Education — A free non-commercial financial education program for high school students.
• Financial Fitness for Life (school-based curricula) — National Council on Economic Education — Multifaceted, comprehensive economic and financial literacy program for grades K-12.
• Learning, Earning & Investing (curricula) — National Council on Economic Education — Investor education for students in grades 4-12.
• Practical Money Skills for Life (website) — Visa — Includes resources for parents & teachers, including lesson plans, calculators and games.

Resources

• Teaching Financial Education Today (website) — University of Minnesota Extension — Teaching resources for teaching about the new Credit Card Act and more.  Presented during workshops (of the same name) June 2010.
• Money Quotes: Energizer or Get-Acquainted Activity (activity; 86 K PDF) — University of Minnesota Extension — Money quote puzzles can be used to introduce financial management topic.
• Smart Money Connections (videos) — KMSQ — Program series geared toward Generation X/Y (ages 18 to 35) to get them thinking about their financial future and introduce them to investing skills and concepts; features real-life video clips and live audience.
• Help Minnesota Save (website) — For direct service staff helpingpeople become economically secure through financial literacy education and asset building.
• Minnesota Attorney General (website) — Consumer protection, housing, healthcare, seniors, cars, personal finance, identity theft, charities, fraud…
• Minnesota Department of Commerce (website) — Information and guidance about banking and insurance
• Minnesota Council on Economic Education (website) — Provides Minnesotans with economic and financial understanding for a complex, global environment
• Prom Spending Plan (training kit) — North Dakota State Extension Service — Affluenza concepts applied to planning for the prom.
• Jump Start Coalition (website) — Improving financial literacy of kindergarten-college youth through advocacy, research, standards and education.
• National Council on Economic Education (website) — A nationwide network that promotes economic literacy with students and teachers
• High School Financial Planning Program® (HSFPP) (website) — A collaboration with Extension. Find a credit union professional to speak in your classroom.
• Federal Reserve Education (website) — Materials to increase your understanding of the Federal Reserve, economics and financial education
• Affluenza (website) — PBS — Television special explores materialism: teacher's guide resources, 100 ways to address affluenza.
• Choose to Save (website)— American Savings and Education Council — Dedicated to improving financial literacy and preparing individuals for long-term financial independence.
• Better Investing (website) — National Association of Investors Corporation — Nonprofit volunteer organization provides objective education, tools, and a proven investment methodology.
• Consumer Jungle (website) — Nonprofit — Curricula helps students become literate, savvy consumers with interactive games, activities, information.
• CUNA Resources for Young Adults (website) — Credit Union National Association — Links to resources to help teens learn to manage their money.
• Family Involvement Council (website) — Minnesota Credit Union Network — Credit Union staff speak/teach in your classroom? Find out how.
• Understanding Your FICO® Score (fact sheet) — Fair Isaac Corporation — How the credit score is used to determine consumer credit worthiness.
• Student Aid on the Web (website) — U.S. Department of Education — Excellent overview of financial aid, eligibility and college lending.
• Federal Trade Commission (website) — Provides consumer protection information.
• HomeFair (website) — National Association of Realtors — Helps make informed choices about relocation, mortgages, and related topics.
• Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE) (website) — Nonprofit — Provides financial information and personal finance education on many topics.
• The Investors Clearinghouse (website) — Alliance for Investor Education — Young investors: building wealth, 529 savings plans, kid’s savings game and calculators.
• It All Adds Up (website) — National Council on Economic Education — On-line games on credit, buying a car, budgeting, saving, investing, paying for college.
• Jobs Now Coalition (website) — Committed to all Minnesota workers having opportunity to earn a family-supporting wage.
• The Mint (website) — Northwestern Mutual and the National Council on Economic Education — Interactive activities on earning, saving, spending, tracking, investing, owing, giving and safeguarding.
• Law Help Minnesota (website) — Helping low-income Minnesotans solve civil legal problems.
• NEFE Financial Education Evaluation Toolkit (website) — National Endowment for Financial Education® — Helps financial educators understand and apply evaluation concepts to document program impact.
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (website) — Students and teachers can learn more about saving and investing.
• The Stock Market Game (website) — Foundation for Investor Education — Simulated stock market game for students to invest $100,000 in a real portfolio, track results.
• Young American’s Center for Financial Education (website) — Nonprofit — Programs teach young people 21 and under about finance, economics and business.
• Consumer Savvy (website) — National 4-H — See Consumer Roadmap for grades 9-12 plus a helper’s guide.

Research

• Capital One's Annual Back to School Survey (news release) — Capital One — Teens eager to learn about money, yet parents overlook opportunities to talk.
• National K-12 Financial Literacy Qualitative & Quantitative Research (PDF slide set) — Networks Financial Institute, Indiana State University — Teachers need financial literacy training and think it’s important to teach.
• 2008 Financial Literacy Surveys of High School and College Students (website) — Jump $tart Coalition — Download summaries of the surveys and results.
• Making the Case for Financial Literacy 2010 (statistics) — Jump $tart Coalition — A collection of personal finance statistics gathered from other sources
• 2001 Parent, Children & Money Survey (report) — TIAA-CREF Institute and American Savings Education Council — Survey about how parents teach children about certain financial issues, and results.
• Financial Literacy: Improving Education (report) — Jump$tart Coalition — 2006 Survey examines why money management courses have not been more effective.
• Teens & Money Survey, 2007 (report) — Charles Schwab — Insights into money attitudes, behaviors and concerns of teens.
• Consumer Insight:  Shedding Light on Key Prospects — Targeting Teens (article) — Newspaper Association of America — The teen market still thrives with diverse interests and immense buying power.
• Dēmos (reports) — Non-partisan public policy research — This publications library holds numerous documents pertaining to expanding economic opportunity
• Spending Power of the Teen Consumer(publication) — Market Research.com — Trends, misperceptions and influences on teens’ attitudes toward money.
• Survey of Consumer Finances (publications) — Federal Reserve Board — Balance sheet, pension, income, and other demographic characteristics of U.S. families.

Resources

• Teaching Financial Education Today (website) — University of Minnesota Extension — Teaching resources for teaching about the new Credit Card Act and more.  Presented during workshops (of the same name) June 2010.
• Making Ends Meet: Strategies for Young Families (online lesson plans) — University of Minnesota Extension — A lesson to introduce strategies to help make ends meet, including budgeting basics, cutting spending, saving, maintaining a good credit, and staying out of debt.
• Money Quotes: Energizer or Get-Acquainted Activity (activity) — University of Minnesota Extension — Money quote puzzles can be used to introduce financial management topic.
• Youth and Money (website) — University of Minnesota Extension — Training and resources in money management for educators.
• GPS LifePlan (website) — Minnesota State Colleges and Universities — Resources to help students set goals and design plans that will lead them to the success they desire. This program has the flexibility to be used by students of all ages and at all stages. Explore the web site to learn more about the 5 Plans (Career, Education, Finance, Leadership and Personal) and discover how they might help you.
• Smart Money Connections (videos) — KMSQ — Program series geared toward Generation X/Y (ages 18 to 35) to get them thinking about their financial future and introduce them to investing skills and concepts; features real-life video clips and live audience.
• Cash Course (website) — National Endowment for Financial Education — Universities provide students resources to cultivate lifelong positive money management habits.
• High School Financial Planning (website) — National Endowment for Financial Education® — Award-winning, non-commercial financial education program for high school students.
• Jump$tart (website) — Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy — Curriculum enrichment for basic personal financial management skills in K-12 education.
• National Council on Economic Education (website) — Nationwide network promoting economic literacy with students and their teachers.
• Free Student Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (website) — U.S. Department of Education — Ensures eligible individuals benefit from federal financial assistance for education beyond high school.

Research

• College Students' Knowledge and Use of Credit (article) — Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education — Study of incoming college freshmen indicated many had credit or had acquired debt.
• A Qualitative Study Of The Money Goals Of College Students And Their Parents (article) — Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education — Parents and their children hold different ideas about financial planning and goal-setting.
• Teen Financial Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Behavior: A Gendered View (article) — Financial Counseling and Planning — A social constructionist perspective in the investigation of 5,329 male and female high school students.
• Closing the Gap Between Knowledge and Behavior: Turning Education into Action (article) — National Endowment for Financial Education — Symposium for educators to explore how to make financial literacy programs more effective.
• Credit Practices and Financial Education Needs of Midwest College Students (article) — Social Science Research Network — An increasing number of students use credit card debt to finance their education.