Teacher guide · Unit 1 of 13
Money Basics
What money is, why it loses value, and the two ideas that drive every financial decision you will ever make.
- Lessons
- 7
- Reading
- 50 minutes
- Unit quiz
- 5 questions
- Class time
- 2 periods
Class time is a guide: 45-minute periods, with the lessons, the unit quiz and a discussion. Students can read lessons at home and take the quiz in class, or the other way round.
Before you teach it: Lessons 1.6 and 1.7 ask students about their own and their family’s beliefs about money. Let students share only what they choose to; the discussion works just as well in general terms.
By the end of the unit, students can
- explain the three jobs money does, and why most money isn’t physical
- explain how inflation is measured, and use the Rule of 72 to see how fast prices double
- name the opportunity cost of a choice, and spot the sunk cost trap
- show why starting early matters so much with compound growth, and what present value means
- recognize common biases and money scripts in their own choices, and where their money habits came from
The lessons
Each ends with a one-question check, and students who pass the unit quiz can go on to three optional stages of harder lessons, for bronze, silver and gold medals.
- 1.1What money actually is6 min
Pull a twenty out of your wallet. What makes it worth twenty dollars?
- 1.2Inflation7 min
The movie didn’t get better. The dollar got worse.
- 1.3Opportunity cost6 min
The cost of the beach isn’t zero. It’s the $120 shift you didn’t work.
- 1.4Time value of money8 min
Alex invested for 10 years and stopped. Jordan invested for 33. Alex ended up with more.
- 1.5Behavioral economics8 min
Knowing about these biases barely protects you from them. The fix isn’t willpower, it’s structure.
- 1.6Money scripts7 min
The rules about money you never chose, and still follow.
- 1.7Where your money habits come from8 min
Your family, your culture and history all had a say before you did.
New Jersey Standard 9.1
The grade 12 expectations this unit teaches, quoted from the state’s standard. See the full alignment for every unit.
- 9.1.12.PB.2Covered
Prioritize financial decisions by considering alternatives and possible consequences.
In this unit: Opportunity cost, Opportunity cost as a discipline (Gold stage)
- 9.1.12.PB.5Covered
Analyze how changes in taxes, inflation, and personal circumstances can affect a personal budget.
In this unit: Inflation, Real vs. nominal (Bronze stage)
- 9.1.12.CDM.3Covered
Determine ways to leverage debt beneficially.
In this unit: Inflation’s winners and losers (Silver stage)
- 9.1.12.CDM.8Covered
Compare and compute interest and compound interest and develop an amortization table using business tools.
In this unit: Compounding, written down (Bronze stage)
- 9.1.12.EG.4Covered
Explain the relationship between your personal financial situation and the broader economic and governmental policies.
In this unit: Why interest rates move every price (Silver stage)
- 9.1.12.FP.3Covered
Relate the concept of delayed gratification (i.e., psychological distance) to meeting financial goals, investing and building wealth over time.
In this unit: Time value of money, Behavioral economics
- 9.1.12.FP.4Covered
Identify how unconscious beliefs like “money scripts” (money avoidant, money worship, money status, money vigilant) influence financial decision-making.
In this unit: Money scripts
- 9.1.12.FP.5Covered
Evaluate how behavioral bias (e.g., overconfidence, confirmation, recency, loss aversion, etc.) affects decision-making.
In this unit: Behavioral economics, Prospect theory, in full (Silver stage)
- 9.1.12.FP.6Covered
Evaluate the relationship of familial patterns, cultural traditions, and historical influences on financial practice.
In this unit: Where your money habits come from
- 9.1.12.CFR.4Covered
Demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationships among attitudes, assumptions, and patterns of behavior regarding money, saving, investing, and work across cultures.
In this unit: Where your money habits come from
Questions for discussion
- Alex invested for 10 years and stopped. Jordan invested for 33 years and ended up with less. How is that possible, and what would Jordan have needed to do to catch up?
- Think of something you bought and regretted within a week. Which bias from Lesson 1.5 explains it best, and what rule or setup, rather than willpower, would have stopped it?
- Finish the sentence “Money is…” in your head. Where do you think that belief came from, and is it one you want to keep?