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Credit & Stocks: Your Money Story

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Lesson Plan

Credit & Stocks: Your Money Story

Students will be able to explain the basic concepts of credit and its potential pitfalls, and identify the good and bad aspects of investing in stocks.

Understanding credit and stocks is crucial for building a solid financial future, avoiding debt traps, and growing wealth responsibly. This lesson lays the groundwork for financial literacy.

Audience

9th Grade Students (Small Group)

Time

60 minutes

Approach

Interactive discussion, examples, and group activity.

Materials

Slide Deck: Credit & Stocks - Your Money Story, Warm Up: Money Matters, Activity: Credit vs. Stocks Scenario Cards, and Cool Down: My Financial Insight

Prep

Teacher Preparation

15 minutes

Step 1

Introduction & Warm-Up: Money Matters

10 minutes

  • Begin by projecting the first slide of the Slide Deck: Credit & Stocks - Your Money Story and introduce the day's topic: understanding money choices.
    - Distribute the Warm Up: Money Matters to students.
    - Ask students to individually complete the warm-up questions.
    - Facilitate a brief class discussion based on their responses, encouraging them to share their initial thoughts on saving, spending, and financial decisions.

Step 2

Understanding Credit: The Double-Edged Sword

15 minutes

  • Transition to the slides on credit using the Slide Deck: Credit & Stocks - Your Money Story.
    - Explain what credit is, using relatable examples like buying a phone plan or a small loan.
    - Discuss the 'why not to use it' aspect of credit, focusing on interest, debt accumulation, and the impact of poor credit scores.
    - Encourage questions and share a personal (anecdotal) example of a credit pitfall or a success story of avoiding one.

Step 3

Exploring Stocks: Opportunity and Risk

15 minutes

  • Move to the stock market section of the Slide Deck: Credit & Stocks - Your Money Story.
    - Define stocks simply: owning a piece of a company.
    - Explain the 'good' aspects: potential for growth, dividends, building wealth over time.
    - Explain the 'bad' aspects: market volatility, risk of losing money, need for research.
    - Use simple analogies (e.g., planting a seed vs. betting on a racehorse) to illustrate the concepts.

Step 4

Activity: Credit vs. Stocks Scenario Cards

15 minutes

  • Divide students into small groups.
    - Distribute the Activity: Credit vs. Stocks Scenario Cards to each group.
    - Instruct groups to discuss each scenario and decide whether the situation primarily involves credit, stocks, or both, and what the potential good/bad outcomes are.
    - Circulate among groups, listening to discussions and offering guidance or challenging their thinking.
    - Bring the groups back together and discuss a few scenarios as a whole class, comparing their conclusions.

Step 5

Wrap-Up & Cool Down: My Financial Insight

5 minutes

  • Briefly summarize the key takeaways about credit and stocks.
    - Distribute the Cool Down: My Financial Insight.
    - Ask students to reflect on one new insight they gained or one question they still have.
    - Collect the cool-downs as an exit ticket.
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Slide Deck

Your Money Story: Credit & Stocks

Understanding how money works is key to your future! Today, we'll explore:
- What is credit and why can it be risky?
- What are stocks, and what are their good and bad sides?

Welcome students and introduce the topic of financial literacy. Explain that today we'll be talking about two big concepts: credit and stocks.

Warm-Up: Money Matters

Take a few minutes to complete your Warm Up: Money Matters worksheet. Think about your current understanding of money.

Prompt students to complete the warm-up activity. Encourage them to think about their own experiences or observations related to money.

What is Credit?

Credit is like borrowing money with a promise to pay it back later, usually with extra money called interest.
- Think of a credit card, a car loan, or even a cell phone plan.

Define credit and give simple, everyday examples. Emphasize that credit isn't inherently bad, but misuse can lead to problems.

Credit: The Danger Zone

While credit can be useful, it can also be dangerous:
- Interest: You pay more than you borrowed.
- Debt: It's easy to owe more than you can pay back.
- Credit Score: Poor choices can hurt your financial reputation, making it harder to borrow in the future.

Focus on the 'why not to use it' aspects. Use simple language and relatable consequences. Discuss interest as the 'cost' of borrowing.

What are Stocks?

Stocks represent tiny pieces of ownership in a company.
- When you buy a stock, you become a very small owner of that company.
- Companies sell stocks to raise money to grow.

Transition to stocks. Explain them as ownership in a company. Use a familiar company as an example.

Stocks: The Good Side

Investing in stocks can be a way to grow your money over time:
- Potential Growth: If the company does well, your stock's value can increase.
- Dividends: Some companies share their profits with stockholders.
- Building Wealth: A powerful tool for long-term financial goals.

Discuss the positive aspects of investing in stocks. Focus on long-term growth and passive income (dividends).

Stocks: The Bad Side

But there are also risks with stocks:
- Market Volatility: Stock prices can go up and down quickly.
- Loss of Money: If the company struggles, you could lose your investment.
- No Guarantees: There's always a risk involved; it's not a sure thing.

Address the risks honestly. Explain market fluctuations and the possibility of losing money. Emphasize that it's not a 'get rich quick' scheme.

Activity: Credit vs. Stocks

Work in your groups to complete the Activity: Credit vs. Stocks Scenario Cards.
- Read each scenario.
- Discuss whether it involves credit, stocks, or both.
- Identify the potential good and bad outcomes.

Introduce the activity. Explain the instructions clearly and ensure students understand they need to discuss and categorize each scenario.

Your Financial Future

Understanding credit and stocks helps you make smart choices for your money story.
- Use credit wisely, if at all.
- Consider investing in stocks for long-term growth, understanding the risks.

Complete the Cool Down: My Financial Insight as an exit ticket.

Conclude the lesson by reinforcing the main ideas. Give students a moment to reflect on what they learned.

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Warm Up

Warm Up: Money Matters

Take a few minutes to think about your relationship with money. There are no right or wrong answers here, just your thoughts!

  1. If you have money, what's the first thing you usually do with it? (Save it, spend it, give it away, etc.) Why?










  2. What's one thing you've heard about borrowing money (like using a credit card)? Is it good or bad?










  3. What's one thing you've heard about investing money (like buying a share in a company)? Is it good or bad?










  4. Why do you think it's important for people your age to start learning about money?

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