Optional Lessons and Games

Consumer Spending: This lesson takes the students through Marlin’s trip to the State Fair. It emphasizes choice-making and opportunity costs, and could appropriately by taught after the mandatory lesson #1 as a reinforcement of the concepts therein.

The Bible and Budgets: This lesson reviews with students some key Biblical verses on money and stewardship. It them gets kids involved in composing a hypothetical summer budget. This lesson does not require student computers or Internet access. If you want to give the students a solid Biblical foundation on budgeting, do this lesson BEFORE the “Creating a Budget” lesson.

Planning and Decision-Making, Part I: This lesson helps students learn to make SMART decisions and plan financially for both the short-term and long-term.

Planning and Decision-Making, Part II: This lesson builds on Planning and Decision-Making, Part I and prepares students for the Business Decisions Game.

Savings Quest Game: This game from AGedwards.com allows youth to create a virtual identity, then enter a world in which they work, earn a salary, and budget that salary so as to provide for their needs and wants, and save toward some goal they determine.

Money Traps Game (Middle School Version): This game involves kinesthetic movement to help students learn about different financial pitfalls and how to avoid getting “money-trapped”.

The Business Decisions Game: In this game, teams of students create and manage their own businesses, helping them learn about making wise financial decisions so that their business will survive.

Budget Busters Game: Budget Busters! is a game about budgeting and choice-making that reinforces concepts and vocabulary from the grades 1-4 Economis curriculum lessons.