# data[].attributes.body
Finances are part of everyone's life. Kids are exposed to the advertisers version of financing from a very young age. These days, with so many financial transactions being processed online or by plastic, the kids don't get exposed to the actual counting of the money. Their exposure is that swipe the card and get what you want. The best things we can do for students is to let them see how to track and sort money in a way that is realistic to their age level. Of course this means progressing every year to a higher level so that by the time they graduate they have a full understanding of what swiping that card really does and how to keep it within a realistic budget and improve their quality of life rather than destroy it.

# data[].attributes.body
At first I was a little overwhelmed when I realized I had to incorporate PFL into our 4th grade curriculum. Being new to 4th grade there were already so many things I was not sure of. However, as a 20 something I understand the importance of PFL experiences in elementary and high school as I did not receive nearly enough of it. The best way to teach it in my 4th grade class is to incorporate it using our classroom economy. Students earn money, pay rent, and need to budget or save for things they need AND want.

# data[].attributes.body
My big AHA moment when looking at the vertical alignment is how easy they are to build upon each other. I didn't realize when I just looked at them grade by grade and almost found it slightly overwhelming. But once I could look at it vertically aligned I saw how you can just gradually add to what they already know and just take their prior knowledge to trigger new information. Once I saw these connections vertically it made teaching PFL much easier in my classroom.

# data[].attributes.body
When teaching financial literacy, I started off my a short reteach about how we have already learned how to add and subtract decimals. I told them to think about how many cents make $1 (100) and so when we are dealing with money, the decimal can't go further than the hundredth place. One thing I incorporate in my classroom in 5th grade is having a classroom economy where they have to keep up with incomes and expenses, they have to pay rent on their desks, get paid for doing jobs, and being able to go to the class store once a week if their finances allow them to. The kids also have to keep a record (like a checkbook) that shows their activity. On a weekly basis, they see how much interest their "savings account" accrues just to practice finding percentages. I found that they really like pretending they have jobs so when I found some practice pay stubs, I put in their names and they LOVED it.

# data[].attributes.body
I was surprised to see how much depth these TEKS have. Specially in 8th grade. I remember these topics being covered in 12th grade Economics and even then they were not covered very thoroughly. I am glad they are starting earlier now. Kids need to know these skills to be ready for their modern life. I remember learning to do many of these things the hard way, after messing up with real money.
Some activities that might be engaging for students:
Classroom economy. Have students earn class money and manage it. Maybe the teacher can be a bank manager once a week, kind of like the game of Monopoly.
Research using different web sites for living expenses and tie them to career and college choices.

Rene Marquez

# data[].attributes.body
I have found that my 6th grade kiddos really enjoy Texas Reality Check. It is a good way to introduce different job options and the different types of schooling. It is always really interesting too to start with asking them what they want to do for a living, making a note of it but then having the students start with the spending section of the TRC. They all want the nicest car, nicest place to live, etc. And then at the end it tells them what job they need to work to afford all that. The look of shock on their face is priceless. It is a great way to really start looking at options for school and costs of tuition with and without loans or grants

# data[].attributes.body
Unable to upload video, so I uploaded the audio only.

# data[].attributes.body
At my previous school, we studied financial literacy in 8th grade. I found that my students were most intrigued by the consequences of not paying a loan. They were amused by the amount of information the bank wanted to know about you, but could explain why the bank would want such information. They already understood what interest is, whether it's earned or to be paid. And after role playing a banker and a customer, they demonstrated a deeper understanding of the process for requesting a loan and setting up a savings account. This was one of my favorite topics with my group last year, and I look forward to working with my 6th graders this year.

Looking through the vertical alignment, I'm definitely impressed with the amount of concepts covered from 3rd to 8th grade. I think it's great that Texas has included such a focus on financial literacy, something that every one of our students will need to use in the future. I was impressed by our state's 32 point gain in credit score, and I will assume it's because of the emphasis put on the topic in schools.

Activities
6.14A
-split the class into groups, with each group research a specific financial institution; present the information from all groups and determine which would be the best decision for different situations
6.14B
-after comparing debit and credit cards, give students different purchases and have them discuss which payment method would be most appropriate
6.14C
-have students research different grants they may qualify for, come up with a plan for meeting certain scholarship requirements, estimate the yearly tuition and fees for a college of their choice, and find tips for dealing with student loans

Lacey Giles
6th ILTexas Arlington MS

# data[].attributes.body
Some activities for 8th grade is to have them research a college they would like to attend and compare 2 year to 4 year university.  This really opens up their eyes to the expense of college.  They also have to talk to their parents about if there is any savings for them already.  Also, if parents will allow, have students create a budget for a month and help with grocery shopping.  Most students don't realize how much food cost and then compare to eating out.

# data[].attributes.body
As a former third grade teacher, I have to admit initially it was hard for me to spend valuable math instructional time on PFL, but I did it anyway. I found that the students LOVE learning about PFL. I started a classroom economy and the kids will not let me go a week without them getting their paychecks, cashing them, and being able to make choice about their money. I find that these TEKS are the easiest to apply to real world situations. They hear their parents talking about money all the time. I also find it fascinating about the choices they make with their money. I definitely have some spenders and some savers.

# data[].attributes.body
When teaching students about decimals, I tell them to think about money. When they add and subtact decimals and are unsure of which numbers would be bigger, I ask them how much would they rather have: 50 cents or 5 dimes. Some do not realize this is the same, so I tell them to use decimals to prove an answer. This is usually an aha moment for them. Also, if allowed, taking them to a banking institution for a field trip to learn more about money usually gets them excited. They relate it to when their parents go to the bank.

# data[].attributes.body
Some activities that I think help the students engage in PFL is having the students research banks and the benefits of each. Having a classroom society, classroom bank account linked to earning money in class for work or bonuses for behavior. I have been working on some enrichment activities where they research local businesses and make decisions base on the information they find. These are fun/short research activities that help the student engage in their community and finances.

# data[].attributes.body
I teach 6th grade. So as I looked at the vertical alignment for the Personal Financial literacy TEKS, I thought about what the students will have already encountered coming into my class, and where they will need to go as they leave me. I noticed that the lower grade levels focus on spending money on needs and wants and learning how to save money. They also get to think about how to allocate their allowance money. In 6th grade, we start to introduce them to more complex ideas like getting set up at a bank and paying for college. I also saw that in the upper grades they would advance into the process of calculating interest for savings accounts and credit cards and start to really apply all of the little things we taught them before about saving and budgeting into real actions.

An activity I could use to help them deepen their understanding of PFL might be to set up different stations that represent banks. The students would need to go to each bank, hear about their fees and requirements and decide which one they would like to use. Students could then decide if they want a debit card or if they would also like a credit card (they could make their own). This activity would get them thinking about their spending habits and how it would affect them depending on which bank they chose.

# data[].attributes.body
When we are learning about adding and subtracting decimal numbers, we start with the term "Think about money".  By the time we get to making a budget, the relationship between decimals and Financial literacy has already been formed.  We can then concentrate on understanding what is going on in the budget. Balancing a budget has been learned through balancing equations.  The math concepts have more meaning when put into context of actually using them with real world applications.

# data[].attributes.body
I'm sorry but my webcam broke over the break and I cannot post a video. But here is a response to the prompt:

I am so excited that I get to teach my students about PFL. I am a "young adult" myself and I wish I learned about savings, credit cards, and debt when I was in high school 5 years ago. It would have made college so much better. Thankfully, I have wonderful parents who did PFL at home and kept me away from credit cards and their appealing "Money is no problem" concept until I was old enough to understand how terrible they can be.

As a child/young adult, the concept of debt is so foreign to most students. They do not realize how companies prey upon their innocence and need to have items "right now." By teaching them at a very young age the idea of interest, savings, debt, etc, we are setting them up for a much brighter future.

Some activities we can include into our instruction are having students go on a shopping spree where they have to calculate sale prices, tax, etc with a given budget. We can also have them lookup various credit cards and using the interest rate they advertise, calculate what the cost of an item will be if they use the credit card versus if they use money they actually have. This activity will be a real eye opener!

# data[].attributes.body
When the PFL TEK was brought to the lower elementary grades I was not sure why we needed to teach these terms and concepts at such an early age. After having some simple conversations with my students about saving, borrowing, and interest, it was clear that they were eager to learn more. They enjoy learning about finance and being able to have those basic financial conversations with me and with their parents. My students have been quite successful in making real-world connections with these standards and can actually see that they will use this information on a regular basis in the lives.

# data[].attributes.body
My first impression of the PFL TEKS was why is this important for my 4th graders?  Why do they need to know about fixed and variable expenses?  They're kids!  After teaching these TEKS for a few years now, I realize the importance of having these conversations with our students at such a young age about savings, spending, and budgeting.  I remember when I graduated high school, I was able to solve a calculus problem but wasn't sure if I was writing a check correctly.  That's a problem!  I'm very glad that we now have TEKS so that our students today will know how to be more financially stable in the future.

Next year I look forward to implementing a classroom economy to help give my students a hands-on experience throughout the entire year.

# data[].attributes.body
I think it's just great that we are teaching kids PFL. As a parent I want my children to understand the importance of money management before they graduate high school and go to college or enter the work force. As a teacher I realize this may fall solely on us educators, since so many adults are lacking the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions. I am glad to see PFL introduced early enough so that  it can continue to be built upon in the following grades.

I would like for my students to do a project that mimics real life scenario (to their understanding) of earning/spending/saving. A most important point would be to have the students brainstorm ways to save more of their income.

PFL is one area where the question "when will I ever use the in real life?" is very easy to answer.

# data[].attributes.body
When I started teaching, the new TEKS has just come out. On them were PFL TEKS. I freaked out. I did not know how I was going to teach my then 3rd graders how to save money, differentiate between needs/wants, and balance a budget. I did my research and found that it was fairly simple. If you as the teacher have the knowledge and confidence, it is fairly simple. I think that students these days need to have that background before going on to college and the real world.

Some activities I can incorporate into my classroom is have the students create their own product and then sell that product to buyers. The buyers will then have to decide if they should spend their money on that particular item. We will discuss needs/wants/etc and wrap all of it into budgets and entrepreneurship. I will be curious to see how this impacts their PFL in later years.

# data[].attributes.body
When I first learned that we would be teaching Financial Literacy to kids as young as 3rd grade, I thought it would be way too difficult for my students.  I couldn't understand why we would teach them such a difficult concept.  However, what I have found is that students are eager to talk about financial literacy.  You can make so many real world connections.   These students hear their parents discuss terms such as "interest" and they feel empowered learning what that word actually means.
This year, I decided to implement a classroom economy.  I wanted to incorporate financial literacy into our daily work. We are using terms such as "saving" and "financial institution" regularly.  I will be very interested to see if it increases their understanding when we actually work on the Personal Financial Literacy unit.

# data[].attributes.body
As a parent and an educator I initially thought that bringing some of the PFL teks down to elementary was crazy. I thought why do they need this so early?? As I learn more about our kiddos and the need for financial education I agree that there is a need. Providing them instruction early and deepening the level of knowledge learned each year gives them a foundation to retain the information and be able to make educated decisions with their money as they begin working and going through college.