Financial Literacy in 5th/6th grade

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Financial Literacy in 5th/6th grade

Katrina Shirley
I currently teach a combo 5th/ 6th grade class.  Within mathematics, we have already begun the practice of recording income and outcome so that they can practice adding and subtracting with decimals.  I think this is important because it gives the students a chance to see that what they are learning really will be used in the future.  It also gave me a great opportunity to talk with the class about different ways money can come in and go out, the importance of recording how much you currently have and even what will happen if you spend more than you have in your balance.  We've recently done a unit in reading and writing on Persuasion and within the 6th grade especially, talked about the use of pathos/logos and ethos within advertising.  This led to a discussion of what ads are really trying to get  you to do, many to buy things.  We talked about whether this would be a wise decision or not.  Within cultural studies, we recently had a unit on trade.  This was a great way to not only look at how the exchange of goods has change over history, but we practiced trading in our own classroom.  This led to a discussion about the value of goods.  I think you can incorporate discussion about financial literacy within all subjects and it is important for students to start considering this at an early age because financial instability is one the leading factors in ruined marriages and stress.