Financial Literacy for Students

Have your students been working hard in the different areas of math, such as geometry, fractions, and computation? Have you thought about how you might address those ever-so-important financial literacy standards that students will need in their lives as they get older? 

Teach Starter has created a set of 24 task cards that you can use with your students when exploring the concepts of gross income and net income. As students enter 5th grade, they begin to explore the differences between these two terms and how they are applied in real-life scenarios. With these task cards, students will not only identify different financial vocabulary terms but will also practice calculating net and gross income. 

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

A team of dedicated, experienced educators created this resource to support your math or economics lessons.

In addition to individual student work time, use this set of task cards to enhance learning through guided math groups, whole class lessons, or remote learning assignments. 

If you have a mixture of above and below-level learners, check out these suggestions for keeping students on track with the concepts: 

🆘 Support Struggling Students

To support struggling students, the teacher should begin by doing a few cards of varying styles together. Allow students to check their work with a calculator. Continue to reinforce that gross income is always greater than net income. If students have a hard time remembering the different terms, use a fishing net as an analogy- what you get in your net is what you actually get to keep or take home.

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

As an extension, have students research a particular career of interest and determine an average salary. Then, have students research the various taxes paid in their state and estimate the net income for that career.

🛴 Scoot Activity 

Place the cards around the room in numerical order and give each student a recording sheet. Assign students or pairs to a starting point card. Give students time to review the card and record their answers in the corresponding space on their paper. Students will rotate to the next card when you say, “SCOOT!” Continue in this manner until students return to their starting point. 

👋 Exit Ticket 

Use these cards as a formative assessment after your lesson. Pick a random assortment of cards and project them on the board for the whole class to see. Students can record their answers on a sheet of paper, sticky note, or their notebook. 

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. A recording sheet and answer key are also included with this download.

Print on cardstock for added durability and longevity. Place all pieces in a folder or large envelope for easy access. 

To keep the task cards out of pockets or under desks, punch a hole in the corner of each to place them on a binder ring. 

Sustainability Tip: Print a few recording sheets on cardstock and slip them into dry-erase sleeves. Students can record their answers with a whiteboard marker, then erase and reuse them.  

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This resource was created by Lorin Davies, a teacher in Texas and Teach Starter Collaborator.