How do I file my tax return? What is a credit score and where does it come from? What is the difference between a debit card and a credit card? How much of my paycheck will be taken out in taxes? Was I paid for the hours I worked last week? Can I afford a car?
I got A TON of questions just like these while teaching high school consumer math. Many of the questions were about things I assumed my students would already know. But how would they know? My students were seniors and worried about life after high school. Understandable!
After years of milling over the best way to build a printable curriculum, I am SO EXCITED to say that I now have a consumer math curriculum available for download.
This consumer math curriculum is an approachable guide to building financial literacy. It is geared towards high school students to prepare them for a successful financial life after graduation. The curriculum includes a printable student book, accompanying student notebook pages, a printable teacher's book, editable quizzes, projector notes and all answer keys.
Here is a short video overview of what is included in the curriculum:
Topics covered:
- Wants vs. needs
- Checks and registers
- Wages and salary
- Bank accounts
- Budgets
- Electronic banking and credit cards
- Credit score
- Discounts and coupons
- Sales tax and tip
- Percent change
- Unit price
- Filing income taxes*
- Car loans
- Mortgages
- Student loans
- Investing
*The income taxes unit will be updated each year to reflect changes to that year's U.S. Form 1040. You will receive an email when the curriculum is ready for redownload. Redownloads are free.
Files included:
- Printable student text (174 pages)
- Printable teacher text with all answer keys (178 pages)
- Printable student notebook sheets (105 half sheets)
- Student notebook sheets answer key
- Projector notes (these match the student notebook sheets)
- Editable quizzes for each unit (16 quizzes in PowerPoint)
- Quiz answer keys
How to use the included files:
The student text is a reference that includes vocabulary, examples and questions for students to answer. You can choose to print the entire student text at once or each unit at a time for student packets or their binders.
The student notebook sheets provide a space for students to answer the questions posed in the text. There are also additional analysis questions on the student notebook sheets for students to answer that are not in the student text. Students paste these notebook sheets into a composition notebook and complete their work there.
The teacher text and student notebook sheets answer key include all answers to all questions presented in the student text and the extra analysis questions on the student notebook sheets.
The projector notes are in PowerPoint and match the student notebook sheets so that you can complete notes along with your students if they require this added support.
The quizzes are completely editable in PowerPoint. Quiz answer keys are included for all quizzes.
FAQs:
Who's this for?
I wrote this curriculum for high school students not taking precalculus or calculus their senior year. These are the students I taught when teaching consumer math and who I feel will benefit most from this curriculum.
Can it work for younger students?
If your students have already been introduced to percents, this curriculum may work for them. However, I do feel that high school seniors will be most invested in learning this material.
Is it for a semester or for the year?
This curriculum does not contain activities outside of the student notebook sheets, so can possibly be completed in one semester if it is used alone.
How many licenses do I need?
This curriculum is licensed for 1 single teacher to use with his or her students year after year.
Is it available on TpT?
The curriculum is only available on my website.
Do you have a list of standards?
This curriculum covers the following National Standards for Personal Financial Education:
Earning Income: Wages and salary, Gross pay, Exact net pay, Approximating net pay, Pay schedules, Tips, Earning interest, Retirement savings, 401(K) employer matching, Filing income taxes, Tax deductions, Wage theft
Spending: Budgeting, Keeping a register of spending, Comparing unit prices, Sales Tax, Discounts, Coupons
Saving: Savings, checking, money market accounts, CDs, Simple interest, Compound interest, Pre- and post-tax retirement accounts
Investing: Risk vs. reward, Stock market, Bonds, Retirement accounts, Diversifying
Credit: Credit score, Credit report, Credit card choices, Credit card interest, Minimum payments, APRs, Down payments, Car loans, Mortgages, Amortization schedules, Student loans, Deferment, Forbearance, Capitalizing interest
Do you have a printout that I can give to my administration for approval?
You can find a printout here to give to your administrator for approval.
Do you accept school purchase orders?
Yes! You can find my PO directions here.
Will the curriculum be updated?
Yes, this curriculum will be updated every year to reflect changes to the way we file income tax returns. When the curriculum is ready to be redownloaded, you will receive an email from me with the redownload link.
Consumer math is such a fun and important course to teach, and I hope that your students thoroughly enjoy building their financial literacy with you! Please send me an email to shana@scaffoldedmath.com with any questions.
The consumer math curriculum is available for download here on my website.
