What is Money As You Learn?

Money as You Learn offers educators tools to integrate personal finance into the teaching of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts, as well as into other classes and after-school programs. This approach can both provide students with essential personal finance understandings and skills and strengthen teaching of the Common Core through meaningful, real-world contexts and applications. It can also enhance the cross-cutting skills such as problem-solving, research, and analysis called for in the Common Core.

For example, mathematical tasks may call for students to apply their mathematical knowledge in important, real-world contexts such as budgeting, understanding compound interest, or assessing risk. Similarly, non-fiction texts such as a pay stub or competing cell phone plans or articles on setting financial goals or cost/benefit analyses of financial decisions can be tools for deepening student ability to understand and use complex texts in English Language Arts lessons.

The financial crisis of 2008, the sub-prime lending crisis, and excessive credit card and student loan debt shine a spotlight on the need for improved financial capability in the United States. In response, the President’s Council on Financial Capability has spurred the development of Money as You Learn to expose more students to critical aspects of personal finance to equip them for better financial decision-making.

This Website Contains

Personal Finance Big Ideas
These describe grade-by-grade foundational understandings of personal finance that would lead students to an action or a higher level of function and that can be integrated into teaching the Common Core.

Mathematics – Financial Literacy Tasks and Lessons
A listing, by grade band, shows which Common Core Mathematics Standards can benefit from contexts and applications based on the grade-appropriate Personal Finance Big Ideas. The list leads to mathematical tasks and lessons for use in the classroom and can be sorted by Common Core Mathematics Standard or by Personal Finance Big Ideas. 

Grades K-2   Grades 3-5   Grades 6-8   Grades 9-12

English Language Arts – Financial Literacy Texts and Lessons
Coming Soon!

A companion website, Money as You Grow, inspired by the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, provides parents with 20 essential, age-appropriate financial principles—with corresponding activities—that kids need to know as they grow.

Questions? Comments? Want to get involved?
Email us: info@moneyasyoulearn.org