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CompareCards now has an education center that includes two free downloadable lesson plans for middle school and high school teachers, focused on educating our youth about credit and money management.
The younger generation is building credit card debt at a rapid speed, and many of them do so right after graduation. In fact, a recent study from Ohio State University suggests that members of the current generation are more likely to die with credit card debt than anyone else. With proper education early on, these growing adults might be able to avoid the stressful turmoil debt can cause. That is the reason why we developed these plans – to create a more credit aware environment for the future.
If you are an educator or parent who wishes to help young people learn more about credit cards, credit scores, interest rates, and debt, read on to see what our lesson plans provide.
Each set of lesson plans is designed to take about an hour to go over in total, depending on the setup. They incorporate detailed explanations, visual aids and chapter-based quizzes to ensure students understand the material. Each packet comes with:
- Step-by-step information about credit and credit cards
- Real-life examples
- 6 sets of exercises (2-5 questions in each)
- A glossary of keywords in the back
- An answer guide for the exercises
Middle School Lesson Plans
For middle school students, we offer "The Basics of Building Credit." These lessons go over:
- What credit is
- How credit is measured
- How to build good credit
- How to avoid bad credit
- The difference between bad credit and no credit
- How credit cards impact credit scores
- When students can start building credit
This information provides an overview of the credit building process. It gives students a chance to see what they can work on now to improve their scores in the future. While it does introduce the credit card, it does not go over its use in great detail. That part is covered in the high school lessons.
High School Lesson Plans
For high school students, we offer "Introducing the Credit Card." These lessons go over:
- What a credit card is
- How a credit card works
- Fees associated with credit cards
- How to apply for a credit card
- How to avoid credit card debt
- How rewards programs work
- How to choose the right credit card
This information offers an in-depth view of what it takes to be a responsible credit card owner. Most high school students are only a year or two away from applying for their first credit card. The tips in these lesson plans will help them know what to look for, what to avoid, and how to manage their new-found opportunities.
Additional Educational Resource:
CompareCards also provides 5 units covering all aspects of investments. The units included cover the following:
- Unit 1: Basics of Investing- What it is and how it works
- Unit 2: Bull & Bear Markets- What these markets are and how they work
- Unit 3: How to Choose Stocks- Stock categories and what to value when choosing a stock
- Unit 4: Work of a Stock Broker- Who they are and what they do
- Unit 5: Other Types of Investments- 5 additional types of investments such as CDs, IRAs, real estate, mutual funds, and commodities
Please make sure to check back in the future for an evolving education center as well as additional teacher resources.
*Our Education Center is now a resource located on Clearinghouse.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.
*The content in this article is accurate at the publishing date, and may be subject to changes per the card issuer.