The West Virginia State Auditor’s Office, in collaboration with the Department of Education, has updated personal finance instructional guides from Teach21 with the Next Generation (NxG) CSOs.

Please visit http://www.wvsao.gov/SecuritiesCommission/Education/MoneyMatters.aspx, where you will find curricula that immerse middle and high school students in personal finance principals, while applying Next Generation Language Arts, Math, and Social Studies CSOs, and 21^st Century Skills.

All instructional guides include vocabulary, research, and projects for discussion.  A free visit by WVSAO staff can be scheduled to offer students a culminating Money Matters presentation which includes a fun and interactive Stock Market Game and/or Corporation Game.

Note to WV FBLA-PBL chapters: A free online stock market game curriculum is available for chapters to earn participation points for the spring conference in Charleston.  The game is already underway, and it is not too late to join the competition.

Here is a quick breakdown of the themes for each of the classroom instructional guides:

5^th Grade: It’s not what you buy; it’s where you buy it! – Students utilize NxG CSOs to learn about needs and wants, pricing, and comparison shopping.

6^th Grade: Who Makes the Flakes? – Students learn budgeting (math) skills such as saving money by lowering unit price.  They are also introduced to corporate competition.

7^th Grade: Hey Pop, who’s your daddy? – The capstone task is to research and discuss corporate brands by looking at the soda pop industry.

8^th Grade: Is it a markup, or a markdown? – Students research soda pop companies as potential investors.  Credit Cards are introduced.

9^th Grade: Don’t go it alone, mutual funds are what to own! – Students learn the basics about mutual funds, and are introduced to the concept of investment diversification.

10^th Grade: Time (and money) is on your side! – Time value of money and budgeting are the core of long term planning, and are the focus of this exercise.

11^th Grade: What to know before you owe. – Credit Cards are highlighted in the debt discussion.  Students will comparison shop credit card offers and determine costs and benefits.

12^th Grade: Who are you? – This program focuses on the dangers of fraud and identity theft.  An online program takes a student into the world of an investment scam, and a worksheet asks students to think carefully about social media and protecting personal information.

If you have any questions, please email justin.southern@wvsao.gov, or call him toll free at 888-724-3982.

Robert “Joey” Wiseman Jr.

Assistant Director

Office of Secondary Learning

Instructional Materials

Social Studies