On the Money

Give High School Students the Financial and Mathematical Proficiency They Need for Success

As high school students make more and more important decisions, their need for financial literacy increases significantly. To succeed in life, they need both an understanding of financial issues and the math skills to make financially sound choices.

With all the requirements and standards to be met in high schools today, how can teachers find room to include financial literacy? The key is to integrate financial topics into mathematics instruction, using everyday topics to bring math concepts to life.

This book’s ten chapters provide lessons and activities on important financial skills to handle such experiences as making investments, buying insurance, understanding a credit score, leasing or buying a car, and choosing and paying for education after high school. The related mathematical skills include analyzing and representing data, evaluating probabilities, modeling real-life situations, creating functions, and more. Each chapter includes:

• a “Balance Sheet” summing up the mathematical and financial literacy knowledge that students will take from the lesson
• relevant Common Core mathematics standards and practices and Jump$tart financial literacy standards
• a full lesson plan, complete with sections on the “Sales Pitch,” the “Fine Print,” and “Closing the Deal”
• activity sheets and other classroom material, which are also available for download at NCTM’s More4U website; and
• suggestions for extended learning, including references and resources.

Help students learn how money works and how they can make it work for them.