Seven Good Resources for Teaching and Learning About the Value of Money

My daughters have recently started receiving a little weekly allowance. One of them is very interested in saving as many of her dollars as possible for as long as possible. The other sees the money and immediately thinks of the things she’d like to buy. This has led to some conversations around our dinner table […]
A Lesson About Money for Students Getting Summer Jobs

Summer is near and for many high school students that means it is time to start working at summer jobs. For many students the first real paycheck that they receive comes with a surprise in the form of tax withholding. PBS Learning Media has a free lesson plan through which students learn about reasons for taxes being […]
Good Explanations of Inflation, Recession, and Bubbles

Turn on any financial news network like CNBC these days and you’re likely to hear some discussion about inflation and concerns about recession. Even if your students aren’t listening to those stories, they might be hearing about them from their parents or perhaps in your classroom as part of a current events discussion. Financial news […]
A Punny Explanation of Savings Bonds

Last weekend I was talking with a friend about Christmas presents for our kids when I sarcastically said, “just give them savings bonds, that’s what every kid wants.” A day later I was still thinking about that conversation when I wondered if kids even know what a savings bond is. That thought prompted me to […]
Short Lessons on the Value of Money

Last week TED-Ed published a new video lesson titled Why Can’t Governments Print an Unlimited Amount of Money? The purpose of the video is to explain how governments, particularly the United States federal government, were able to spend trillions of dollars on COVID-19 economic relief programs in the last year. The video explains the role of […]
A Fun App for Learning About Money
Money Math Duel is an iPad app and Android app designed to help students learn to count currency. The app is unique in that it allows two students to use it at the same time. Students place the iPad between them and each has his or her own end of the screen to use. Students […]
Measuring Worth – A Lesson on Inflation

Do you remember when a cup of coffee didn’t cost $3? Or when ten dollars bought you enough gasoline to drive for a week? How about buying a pack of baseball cards for 25 cents and getting a piece of gum in the pack too? I remember those days. My money seemed to go a […]
Peter Pig Helps Kids Learn About Money
Peter Pig’s Money Counter is a fun little game designed to help kids learn to recognize U.S. coins, to recognize the values of U.S. coins, and to add the values of U.S. coins. The game is available to play online. Peter Pig’s Money Counter is also available as a free iPad app and as a […]
Time Is Money – And Other Short Lessons on Money

The majority of the high school students that I’ve had over the years has been engaged by personal finance lessons. This is probably due in large part to the fact that high school age is when many students get their first real jobs. For many students that first pay check comes with excitement followed by […]