Total Pageviews

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Web 2.0 Financial Literacy K-12 Sites

The Core standards include financial literacy. I was looking for Web 2.0 financial literacy resources to share with our teachers and this is what I found. This should save you time and give you resources you may not been aware of. Explore and enjoy!

Financial Football


Grades 9 to 12--free
Visa and the National Football League have teamed up to help teach financial concepts with Financial Football, a fast-paced, interactive game that engages students while teaching them money management skills. Teams compete by answering financial questions to earn yardage and score touchdowns.

Teach Banzai


Grades 9 to 12--free

Teach real-world financial literacy, for free. Merge classroom learning with real-world experience as students learn to make wise spending decisions. Banzai is a web-based tool that is free for you and your students!

Biz Kids


Grades 9 to 12--free
BizKids, a website and public television series supported by America's Credit Unions, includes external links to finance games, activities, savings and debt calculators, and information on starting a kid business. Teacher resources include support materials for the television episodes and online video segments.

Kids Bank


Grades 1 to 6--free

KidzBANK is a fun, educational program for schools, in partnership with their local financial institutions, for teaching the habit of saving and other financial life skills to their students. Our country is faced with a negative savings rate and an un-banked population of 12 million households. KidzBANK is an excellent tool for changing this by introducing young citizens and their families to financial institutions and creating a lifetime savings habit.

Money in the Bank


Grades: Elementary--Free
This very simple activity for elementary grades calculates how long it will take to save for a goal. (A simple spreadsheet lesson introducing formulas can accomplish the same thing!)

Compound Interest Calculator


Grades: High School--free

With this resource, students can input monthly savings, age, and compound interest rate, and then see how much their money will grow by retirement. A graph shows the proportion of principal and interest. (Again, a spreadsheet can do this as well.)

Universal Currency Exchange


Grades: High School--free

This site includes information on every world currency and up-to-date currency converters.

Stock Quest Game


Grades: 4-adults--Free

Individuals or groups can play the stock market with virtual money; teachers can track students' progress; friendly contests are also feasible. The site includes lesson plans, a guide to stocks, and information on online investing.

Stock Market Game


Grades: 4-adults

In the Stock Market Game, a program of the Foundation for Investor Education, students collaborate and negotiate in teams, drawing on Internet research and current news as they compete to build a successful virtual portfolio. The program requires an initial teacher training session and a nominal annual registration fee.

Miniyanland


Grades: Elementary--free

This financial literacy game allows players to invest or earn money over time (even by doing offline chores, verified by parent e-mails) and make saving and spending choices.

Fedville


Grades: Elementary--free

This cute site has lots of interactive elements woven into a financial literacy theme, but some of the games have minimal learning value.

Escape from the Barter Islands


Grades: Elementary--free

This little simulation for primary students demonstrates how barter works and why money is more efficient than barter for trading goods or services.

Count the Money


Grades: Elementary--free

Students practice mental math skills with this money counting game.

Fifty Nifty Econ Cards/print


Grades: High School--free

Economic vocabulary cards and a teacher's guide for K-6 can be printed from the site, or a free set of cards can be ordered online. The site includes related offline games, activities, and assessments, as well as a glossary and chart of concepts organized by grade level.

The Allowance Game


All ages-- free

This free simple printable game for all ages uses beans as "allowance" and promotes discussion as it guides students in prioritizing spending choices.

Once Upon a Dime--print


Grades: 6th graders to 9th--free

This free printable comic book for middle-schoolers presents basic economic concepts through a story of the development of the economy of a mythical island.

A Penny Saved--print


Grades: middle/HS--free

A 24-page resource in comic book form, with dense vocabulary and concepts geared for middle and high school students, can be downloaded from a graphic link on this page (83 mb).

Great Minds Think


Grades: middle school--free

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is offering a free activity book that makes finances fun. Great Minds Think: A Kid’s Guide to Money, produced by the Bank’s Learning Center and Money Museum, is filled with engaging exercises to help middle-school-aged kids make thoughtful decisions about money.

The Story of Banks


Follows three young entrepreneurs as they use progressively more sophisticated bank services over a 23-year period. Also explores the role of checking deposits and lending in money creation. 24 pp.

My Money.gov


Grades: Middle School--free

This site compiles economic resources from 20 U.S. governmental agencies in one place. You Are Here is a virtual mall where middle school students can learn consumer concepts; the majority of the links at MyMoney are geared for teens and adults.

Council for Economic Education


Grades: All--free

This site includes print, online, and linked economic resources.

Junior Achievement


High School--free

Resources for entrepreneurship.

Jumpstart Coalition


Grades--K-12--free

The website of the Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy includes a clearinghouse of extensive links to other financial resources, National Standards in K 12 Personal Financial Education, and "reality check" personal checklists.

937