In this day and age of increasing global debt, job loss, high credit card rates, etc., students more than ever (no matter what the age) need to learn the value of money. They need to learn how to make it stretch, plan for retirement, save for a rainy day, plan everyday expenses within a budget, stay out of debt, study the TRUE costs of pursuing a college education, etc. The list goes on and on, but most schools don't spend much time on this subject to the demands of addressing benchmarks and pacing calendars. If educators are truly to prepare students to be financially savvy after they leave high school or college, they must start early in building financial literacy.
One way to make such content less overwhelming is using tools such as the ones on this site. Here the complex is broken down into smaller comprehensible chunks so that students can develop those key financial skills that will turn them into consumer savvy adults. For the younger students, they will learn how to both spend their allowances carefully as well as save a bit for emergencies. The site also contains videos on investing, borrowing, planning for retirement, etc. One of the video contributors is The Khan Academy. They offer videos on the US economy, mutual funds, bankruptcy, etc. Of course, not every video works with every age group, but this site has something for every age level INCLUDING lessons on each topic for teachers.
There are also a wide range of interactive games which support instruction. Yes, students will have fun, but they will have to carefully weigh each financial decision they make if they are to earn a high score. Calculators are also built into the site to support students in working with those numbers:)
FINANCIAL LITERACY might even be appealing to some adults:)
Denise
ELL TEACHER PROS
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