Lesson 1: You and Your Money

When learning a new subject, students often ask

“Why do I need to know this?”

“How does this information relate to anything in my life?”

Your students will never question the relevance of this course. Money and their ability to manage money impacts their everyday lives, and will become even more important as they get older. Financial literacy means understanding how money works, how money is earned and managed, and wealth built. Building a secure financial future includes understanding the differences between income and wealth and why wealth is the key to financial security.

Unit Theme

Earning an Income

Lesson Topics

Defining financial literacy
Introduction to course themes
Income vs. wealth
Wealthbuilding as a second job
Wealth and financial security
Income and class division in America
(opt.) Gender pay inequality debate

Lesson Objectives

Lesson objectives aligned to NSFL.

Objective	NSFL Gr. 8	NSFL Gr. 12
Compare income and wealth	I-3, I-4, I-6	+*
List key features of U.S. socioeconomic classes	+	+
Explain the significance of the FPL	I-10	I-3
Summarize the relationship of wealth to financial security	I-7; +	+
(Opt.) Argue for or against Gender Pay Gap reforms	+	+
(Tech Opt.) Use SweetSearch to research Gender Pay Gap	+	+