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Unit 5: Personal Finance

About Unit 5

 

12 LESSONS, plus semester post-assessment
45 minute long lessons

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on-level high school economics

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New to our curriculum? Start here.  

Check for upcoming or on-demand curriculum workshops.

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Unit 5 Big Idea: Planning

Lessons build on one another and are designed to be used sequentially. If you plan to use one of the lessons in isolation, review the Overview documents (Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5). To unlock all lessons you must log in as an Econiful member.

 

 

Unlock All Unit 5 Lessons

 

 

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5.1 The Promise and Peril of Compound Interest

Through real-world examples, data tools, and financial scenarios, students examine how compound interest can work both for and against individuals, and gain a foundational concept they will revisit throughout the personal finance unit.

5.2 Planning for the Future with Investments

Coming soon!

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​​​​5.3 Thinking About Credit Like an Economist

Students explore the costs and benefits of using credit (specifically credit cards and student loans) through video clips, readings, and discussions of real-world credit scenarios. 

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5.4 Why Credit Scores Matter for Your Future

By moving through a board game that mirrors real-world credit decisions, students discover how their actions can affect their credit score. In the latter half of the lesson students take a quiz to reinforce the personal finance concepts introduced thus far.

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5.5 Making Informed Career Decisions

Through accessing real-world sources, like the BLS’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, students research the costs and benefits associated with an occupation of interest for them.

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5.7 Assessment Preview

Students are introduced and begin preparing for the end-of-unit assessment, Planning for Future You, which will be completed in Lesson 5.12.

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5.12 Planning for Future You

Grounded in real-life relevance, this summative assessment invites learners to apply economic principles by setting a meaningful long-term financial goal and crafting personalized, practical advice to help achieve it.

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5.13 Semester Post-Assessment 

A no-stakes test of economic literacy is repeated at the end of the semester to determine growth.

Contact Kathleen Cusack with questions at Kathleen@econiful.org.
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