It’s hard to imagine the summer is winding down and kids are heading back to school. The FDIC has resources to help families and schoolteachers bring financial education into the home or classroom. For families, the FDIC Money Smart Parent/Caregiver Guides offer practical activities and conversation starters on common financial topics. FDIC Money Smart News for Kids includes nine chapters, which introduce basic banking terms to children. Each issue builds upon the next and introduces two characters who try out different financial concepts along the way.
For teachers, two instructor-led financial education curriculums support educating youth: Money Smart for Young People and Money Smart for Young Adults.
Whichever resource you use this school year, by helping youth learn about money and financial matters, you are setting them up for good financial health as they become adults.
Money Smart and Back to School
As summer winds down and the days get shorter, many parents, children, and teachers are thinking about going back to school. Back to school can mean new things – new clothes, new shoes, new notebooks, and even new experiences. Back to school can also mean a return to old favorites – like friends, teachers, and courses.
Whether you are looking for something new or a favorite for your financial education course, Money Smart can help you educate your students.
If you teach students from Pre-K to Grade 12, you will find that Money Smart for Young People is the course for you. This free set of four grade-specific curriculums, created in collaboration with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), includes lesson plans and Parent/Caregiver Guides to help you deliver basic financial concepts to students.
You can also use Money Smart News for Kids. FDIC Money Smart News for Kids includes nine chapters, which introduce basic banking terms to children, who are perhaps just beginning to learn about finances. Each issue builds upon the next and introduces two characters who try out different financial concepts to give students a character to identify with and help engage them along the way.
Teachers with high school aged-students or older students may want to use Money Smart for Young Adults. Money Smart for Young Adults is a 12-module curriculum that includes fully scripted instructor guides that bankers and others without teaching experience can easily use to help young adults ages 16-24 learn the basics of personal finance. The materials in this curriculum can help prepare them for future life events such as renting a home, buying a car, or paying for college.
Adults can use financial education too. If you are teaching adults, then Money Smart for Adults is the course for you. This 14-module curriculum can be used to provide training for adults in many different life stages and financial situations. This includes adults new to the country, adults with disabilities, adults starting or changing careers, and adults going through significant life events such as expanding their families or purchasing or renting their first homes.
If you are looking for something new to teach your students about finances, try a Reality Fair. A Reality Fair is a simulation of an adult’s financial life that provides youth with an interactive experience for making real world financial decisions and managing money. Participants experience what it is like to have an account at a financial institution, decide how to use their money, obtain a loan, manage debt, and more. Find out more at the FDIC Organizing Reality Fairs.
Prefer games and play to teach? Check out How Money Smart Are You? It contains 14 self-paced games where players can earn certificates as they learn. You can even set up an organization account and track your students’ progress.
Whatever Money Smart program you use, new or a favorite, we are eager to hear and share your success stories! If you have successful strategies, promising approaches, or memorable Money Smart moments, please share them with us at moneysmartnews@fdic.gov.
“They have inspired me with all they have done.” Dr. Angela Yang, Director of the International Student Program at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California, expressed her pride in the accomplishments of her students.
In the spring of 2023, Dr. Yang led a group of five female students from Saddleback College to attend the American Association of University Women conference at The University of Maryland, College Park, MD. During the conference, Frances Niu, one of the students, attended a financial literacy session panel where FDIC Senior Consumer Education Specialist Sandra Hernandez was a speaker.
Frances learned about the benefits of Money Smart during the panel. Realizing how challenging it was for her and other international students to navigate the financial system in the United States, she decided to create a Financial Literacy Club upon her return to school to help her fellow students improve their financial skills. “Before she came to the United States, Frances worked for a bank, so she understands the importance of financial literacy, especially for female immigrants,” Dr. Yang added.
After the conference, Dr. Yang and Frances started brainstorming, and with input from Sandra, started a Financial Literacy Club. To attract participants, they reached out to Saddleback College students and Asian students from nearby high schools. The Club attracted 13 students who attended a train the trainer session provided by Sandra in February 2024. The students subsequently met every other Sunday, on their own time, to go through ten of the Money Smart for Adults modules.
Frances adapted the Chinese version of Money Smart for Adults to develop the Club curriculum. She implemented the discussions and activities included in the curriculum and developed more interactive activities to make the classes more engaging. For example, in the “You Can Bank On It” module, the activity was to visit a local bank and open either a checking or savings account, take a picture of an FDIC sign, and share their experience of doing so. The activities also included working in teams and having competitions using the training materials.
“Frances is such a great leader,” said Dr. Yang. “She taught in Chinese, but some of the discussions were in both Chinese and English. The students had a great time learning through that.” Frances nurtured the leadership in other students by having two or three student leaders teach part of each module.
The community benefited by having high school students in the Club as they went home and shared the financial concepts with their parents, most of whom are first-generation immigrants. Dr. Yang said, “Even the parents don’t have the concepts with financial literacy because language is a big barrier to them, so the parents are very happy and excited about this idea.”
The Club completed the ten Money Smart modules by the end of the semester, but that did not end the Club’s activities. Frances’ goal is to expand the Club’s outreach by sending the students into the community to teach what they have learned to vulnerable populations. Their current outreach efforts include Asian senior citizen centers and single mothers.
Although Frances graduated in May, the Club will continue, and incoming freshman, Judy Ju, will be the next leader. “We want to do more promotion and we are looking to make it even larger,” said Dr. Yang. The students also want to start another club, Financial Literacy or Money Smart Club, in high school next fall.
Congratulations to Saddleback Community College and all their Money Smart successes!
Saddleback Community College is a Money Smart Alliance member. If you would like to learn more about the Money Smart Alliance, please click here.
The FDIC will host a back-to-school webinar on August 21 from 1:00-2:00 PM ET to feature our Guide to Organizing Reality Fairs. A Reality Fair is a simulation of an adult’s financial life that provides youth with an interactive experience for making real world financial decisions and managing money. Participants experience what it is like to have an account at a financial institution, decide how to use their money, obtain a loan, manage debt, and more. You can find more information about the event here.
Latest FDIC Consumer News Edition
The August 2024 edition of the FDIC Consumer News is titled “Take Charge of Your Credit Cards: Tips for choosing and using.” The article provides tips to help you to save money and assist with your financial matters. For the full article, please click here.
Whether you are teaching young people or young adults about Money Smart, sometimes you want to add something to your lesson plans. We created the FDIC Teacher Online Resource Center to give educators resources to do just that. On this site, you will find links to other websites for students that include interactive games and other resources, a list of children’s books that can help teach key money concepts, and links to other FDIC resources.