Thinking About Credit Like an Economist
Unit 5 · Lesson 5.3 · Last updated June 10, 2026
A 45-minute lesson exploring the costs and benefits of credit cards and student loans through video clips, readings, and a life coach activity applying the principles of economic thinking.
Overview
In this lesson, students explore the costs and benefits of using credit by viewing video clips, reading about credit cards or student loans, and discussing real-life borrowing scenarios. The lesson concludes with students applying economic thinking principles to offer advice in a "life coach" activity.
Learning Objectives
- Describe the costs and benefits of using credit.
Materials
- Instruction Slides (display during class period)
- Student Handout pp. 4–5 (1 copy per student)
- Credit Card Reading pp. 6–7 (enough for two-thirds of students)
- Student Loan Reading pp. 8–9 (enough for two-thirds of students)
- Suggested Responses p. 10 (1 copy for educator reference)
Lesson Sequence
Slides 2–6
- Display Slide 2. Instruct students to discuss their answer to the question on the slide with a peer. Reveal the correct response on Slide 3 and acknowledge that many households are unable to afford an unexpected $400 expense. Additional educator tips and suggested answers are in the notes section throughout Instruction Slides.
- Proceed to Slide 4. Ask students to consider the question on the slide. After approximately 30 seconds, call on students to share their responses. Click to reveal the remaining text on the slide.
- Advance to Slide 5. Emphasize that using a credit card and taking out a loan are both examples of using credit.
- Display Slide 6 and explain the learning objective. Highlight that many people utilize credit and that credit is the formal process for borrowing money.
Slides 7–20
- Progress through Slides 7–9. Distribute 1 copy of Student Handout to each student and encourage students to jot down notes throughout the lesson. Define credit using the text on Slide 9.
- Proceed to Slide 10. Ask students to consider the question on the slide with a partner. Click to reveal the text and acknowledge that there are many forms of credit. Identify credit cards and student loans as the focus of this lesson.
- Display Slide 11. Remind students of the definition of interest and identify the potential to be charged interest as one of the significant costs associated with any form of credit.
- Advance to Slide 12. Provide an overview of credit cards using the information on the slide. Click to reveal the remaining text and provide an overview of student loans.
- Proceed to Slide 13, which includes a short video clip identifying some of the costs and benefits of using credit cards. Tell students to consider Question 1 — listed on Student Handout under "Video Clips" — as they watch. Play the video.
- Display Slide 14. Instruct students to discuss the question on their handout with 1–2 classmates and record their ideas before debriefing as a class.
- Advance to Slide 15, which includes a short video clip identifying costs of federal vs. private student loans. Tell students to consider Question 2 — listed on Student Handout under "Video Clips" — as they watch. Note that benefits are not explicitly mentioned and students will need to make inferences. Play the video.
- Proceed to Slide 16. Instruct students to discuss the question with 1–2 classmates and record their ideas before debriefing as a class.
- Progress to Slide 17. Encourage students to think about their future plans and ask students to consider the question on the slide.
- Display Slide 18. Click to reveal the task students will complete using their handout and chosen reading. Distribute Credit Card Reading to students who selected credit cards as most relevant, and Student Loan Reading to those who selected student loans. Note: Make both readings accessible on your learning management system and encourage interested students to also read the other article. Allow 12 minutes to complete the task. If students ask about credit scores, provide a brief explanation and note that Lesson 5.4 covers those concepts in detail.
- Display Slide 19. Pair each student with a classmate who read the same article (groups of 3 as needed).
- Advance to Slide 20. Instruct pairs to share their responses and add to their handouts. Circulate to offer clarification as needed.
Slides 21–23
- Progress through Slides 21–22. Direct students to turn to the "Economist as Life Coach" section of Student Handout. Tell students they will be responsible for 1 of the scenarios. Direct pairs to pick the scenario they are most interested in (or assign scenarios) and complete the instructions on the slide.
- After 6 minutes, proceed to Slide 23. Call on a pair who responded to the first scenario and instruct them to share. Supplement student responses as needed using Suggested Responses.
- Continue calling on pairs for the remaining scenarios. Aim to have each principle of economic thinking covered at least once. Consider allowing additional pairs to offer connections to other principles for each scenario.
- Pro Tip: Students received all scenarios as ready-made retrieval practice. This can be assigned later in the unit as out-of-class practice — post Suggested Responses to your learning management system and provide opportunities for students to discuss their responses.
Aligned Standards
National Standards for Personal Financial Education
Standard V Managing Credit
What Educators Are Saying
Very practical and applicable to my juniors and seniors, especially as they think about college soon.
High School Economics Teacher, New Hampshire
Students had buy-in (pun intended) with credit card usage. There were a few questions regarding credit scores and how it could impact someone with, or wanting a credit card.
High School Economics Teacher, Arizona
Econiful gave me the structure and confidence to build an engaging Economics course while still allowing flexibility and creativity in my classroom.
High School Economics Teacher, Illinois