5 Financial Literacy Activities for Middle School Students

5 Financial Literacy Activities for Middle School Students

As adults, most of our choices hinge on our finances, yet many young people reach adulthood without the skills to manage money effectively.

According to the OECD’s 2022 PISA assessment, students who regularly discuss money decisions or learn finance-related terms at school tend to score higher in financial literacy, and those high performers are 72% more likely to save and 50% more likely to compare prices before buying. These findings suggest that students need exposure to financial ideas through a rich, varied curriculum that includes discussion, debate, and hands-on experiences.

Everfi’s free digital money lessons — completed by more than 800,000 middle school students last school year — give students space to have those conversations and to practice real budgeting, saving, and goal-setting in realistic simulations.

Main Takeaways

• Early, consistent exposure to financial concepts helps students connect classroom learning to real-world decisions, setting the stage for long-term financial independence.
• Middle schoolers are developmentally primed to work with abstract financial literacy concepts such as compound interest, opportunity cost, trade-offs, and planning.
• Real-world simulations, such as budgeting and goal-setting scenarios, give students a safe space to test their decision-making.
• Teachers can build financial literacy activities for middle school into core content with Everfi’s classroom-ready digital courses.

Table of Contents

1. Why Financial Literacy Matters in Middle School
2. How Do You Teach Financial Literacy in Middle School?
3. What Topics Should Be Included in Middle School Financial Literacy Lessons?
4. What Are Some Fun Financial Literacy Activities for Middle Schoolers?
5. How Can Teachers Make Financial Literacy Relevant to Students’ Lives?
6. Are There Free Financial Literacy Resources for Middle School Teachers?
7. How Do You Assess Financial Literacy in Middle School Students?
8. Empowering Students Through Financial Literacy

Why Financial Literacy Matters in Middle School

Middle schoolers’ growing ability to think abstractly opens the door to financial literacy concepts such as saving, interest, risk, and opportunity cost, all of which depend on anticipating future trade-offs rather than reacting to the present.

As students develop foresight and independence, teachers have an opportunity to build the foundational skills that lead to financially capable adults. To do this effectively, instruction needs a clear roadmap.

The Jump$tart National Standards for Personal Finance Education provides that roadmap. It’s a clear, research-backed framework that helps students move from curiosity about money to practical understanding.

Everfi’s free digital financial literacy resources are built on these same principles. They immerse middle school learners in age-appropriate money scenarios where they can practice real financial decision making. Because the resources align with national standards, teachers get ready-to-use lessons to deliver financial literacy instruction with fidelity…without adding to their prep time.

How Do You Teach Financial Literacy in Middle School?

Many teachers hesitate to incorporate new financial literacy content because the year is already crowded, and it can feel unrealistic to make space for one more required topic.

With the pre-built, research-backed curriculum from Everfi, you can weave financial literacy activities for middle school into the classes you already teach and revisit those ideas through projects and digital simulations throughout the year, instead of carving out a separate, standalone unit.

Mathematics

During the ratios and percent unit in math, students calculate a sample paycheck, determine what’s taken out for taxes and other deductions, and figure out the actual take-home pay. They then divide what’s left across housing, food, transportation, and savings. It’s the same percent-of and proportional reasoning work they’re already expected to do, just applied to a paycheck instead of a simple word problem.

Social Studies

In the local government unit, you can have students work from a simplified city or school budget and a list of requests that exceed that budget. Their job is to decide what gets priority and what does not. Then they explain those choices to classmates who disagree — for example, if they keep after-school programs but reduce bus service, they have to show what that change would mean for the people affected and how that trade-off affects the rest of the budget.

AVID and Advisory

Students enrolled in AVID have an excellent opportunity to tie together their actual aspirations after high school and middle school money lessons. While your class is researching potential pathways, whether it’s a welding certificate, EMT training, a community college nursing program, or a state university, ask them to find out what it would cost to get through the first year, including what it would take to live while doing it.

After students have worked with concepts like budgeting, saving, and planning for future goals in their core classes, digital simulations give them a safe place to try those ideas and see the results.

Research shows that this strategy of inviting learners to work through self-paced digital experiences that simulate real financial situations is highly effective:

• Students who completed Venture: Entrepreneurial Expedition experienced an average learning gain of 28%.
• Students who completed SmartEconomics experienced an average learning gain of 25%.
• Students who completed SaveUp: Saving Money for the Future experienced an average learning gain of 36%.

What Topics Should Be Included in Middle School Financial Literacy Lessons?

Effective financial literacy for middle school students depends on scaffolding. Students move from concrete, familiar money tasks to more complex reasoning about planning, trade-offs, and long-term outcomes. As their understanding grows, teachers can gradually pull back support and give students room to apply what they’ve learned with increasing independence.

Once that foundation is in place, students are ready to explore the core topics that comprise lasting financial health. Introduce these gradually, starting with familiar tasks and moving toward more complex reasoning:

• Budgeting: organizing income and expenses in a simple plan
• Saving & Spending: understanding trade-offs in everyday choices
• Needs vs. Wants: distinguishing essentials from discretionary items
• Credit & Debit: learning how payment methods work and their implications
• Financial Decision-Making: weighing options and anticipating outcomes
• The Individual & The Economy: connecting individual actions to larger economic systems

That same developmental approach underpins Everfi’s middle school curriculum. Courses such as FutureSmart, SmartEconomics, and SaveUp: Saving Money for the Future introduce each concept through relatable, real-world scenarios that become more challenging as students become more confident. This structure naturally supports age-appropriate scaffolding — students begin with guided examples and end by managing realistic financial decisions on their own — while helping teachers align instruction with the Jump$tart National Standards for Personal Finance Education.

What Are Some Fun Financial Literacy Activities for Middle Schoolers?

Financial literacy activities for middle school students should ask students to take on the roles of budgeters, consumers, savers, and entrepreneurs while experimenting with money management in a safe, structured environment.

Here are five examples that keep learners engaged through hands-on applications of financial concepts.

1. Classroom Shark Tank

After completing Everfi’s Venture: Entrepreneurial Expedition, students bring their business ideas off the screen and into the room. Each group stands before a panel of “investors,” describing how their company would earn revenue and why it’s worth the risk. As they field questions, they have to justify every dollar they plan to spend and defend the choices behind their pricing.

2. Global Trade Fair

Every country relies on a particular set of resources to fuel its economy and leverage its position in the global marketplace. In this activity, based on Everfi’s SmartEconomics: Economic Concepts, students model that system by running a classroom trade fair. Individuals represent a country with a short list of exports and a few key shortages. As they bargain for the materials they need, teachers can encourage discussions about how scarcity at the macro level can affect the cost to families of getting the things they need, such as groceries and gasoline.

3. Lessons From Life

Have students play a full game of The Game of Life in small groups.

When everyone finishes, bring the class together to talk through what stood out and what surprised them most about how they handled their money:

1. Which choices gave you more financial stability, & which created challenges later on?
2. How did luck influence your outcome compared to planning?
3. Did any short-term decisions make long-term goals harder to reach?
4. How did your financial priorities change as the game went on?
5. What lessons from Life might apply to managing money as an adult?

4. The Stock Market Game

The Stock Market Game provides middle schoolers with a scaffolded way to understand how risk and reward work in investing. Because students trade with virtual money tied to real market activity, they can make bold choices or play it safe without real consequences. The balance of chance and strategy keeps them interested while introducing them to stocks.

5. FutureSmart: Financial Literacy

Everfi’s FutureSmart: Financial Literacy invites students to step into the shoes of a city mayor tasked with improving the financial health of their community. Across seven lessons, they work through realistic challenges by applying budgeting and planning skills that, on average, have produced a 26% improvement in students’ understanding of core personal finance concepts. The course culminates in Build Your Blueprint, a reflective portfolio that asks students to connect what they’ve learned to their own lives.

How Can Teachers Make Financial Literacy Relevant to Students’ Lives?

Though middle schoolers still have limited control over earning or spending money, teachers who are willing to capitalize on instances when a student talks about saving for a game console or convinces their parents to pay for new shoes can turn these conversations into quick, relevant examples of managing their finances.

Educators may also consider addressing some of the root causes of poor spending habits, helping students think metacognitively about marketing tactics. As middle schoolers spend more time online, they’ll encounter celebrity brands, sponsored posts, and trends designed to make them feel like they have to spend to fit in. Giving them space to analyze why those messages work and how they target emotion over need helps them see those manipulation tactics at work.

Everfi’s middle school money lessons use the same principle — meeting students where they are and letting them test financial ideas through realistic scenarios. In SaveUp: Saving Money for the Future, students make choices about spending, saving, and goal-setting in situations that mirror their own lives. They see how small decisions add up and how trade-offs shape what they can afford next. After completing the course, 43% more students said they felt prepared to budget their money, and 65% more felt ready to set financial goals.

Are There Free Financial Literacy Resources for Middle School Teachers?

Adding financial literacy to an already packed schedule doesn’t have to mean finding new prep time or new funding. Several comprehensive, no-cost programs are already built to meet national standards and fit naturally into existing subjects.

Everfi’s free personal finance lessons for middle school go far beyond basic budgeting and saving. Lessons walk students through real-world decisions like earning and managing income, comparing savings accounts, understanding how credit works, and recognizing risk and reward. Because the activities are digital and self-paced, they can slot into math, social studies, or advisory periods without displacing other priorities. Teachers can create a free account to get started.

The FDIC’s Money Smart for Young People curriculum provides printable lessons and take-home activities that reinforce those same financial standards through direct instruction. It’s beneficial for teachers who prefer ready-to-teach print materials or want to extend learning beyond the classroom.

TreasuryDirect offers Money Math: Lessons for Life, a free four-lesson curriculum for grades 7-9 that teaches math concepts through real-world personal finance examples. Teachers are empowered with a pdf guide that includ

Together, these tools make it possible to teach the full spectrum of financial literacy — earning, saving, spending, credit, and risk — without investing anything but a bit of class time.

How Do You Assess Financial Literacy in Middle School Students?

Assessment in financial literacy works best when it measures progress in judgment rather than perfection in recall. The goal is for middle schoolers to start building a framework for economic decision-making, which naturally involves trial and error and reflection. Students need to understand that mistakes are expected, and that what matters most is knowing how to move forward with better reasoning next time.

Everfi’s teacher platform builds that idea into its design with both formative checkpoints and pre- and post-assessments that track progress over time. These built-in tools provide a clear picture of how much students have grown, offering teachers evidence-based milestones and insights into when a concept needs further clarification.

For a summative assessment, give students space to take ownership of what they’ve learned. Have them plan a budget for something tangible, like running a school event or club, and think through how they would handle unexpected costs. By making those choices themselves and adjusting as conditions change, they begin to develop the same judgment they’ll use to manage their own budgets in the future.

Empowering Students Through Financial Literacy

Teaching financial education in middle school gives students a head start on developing a sense of control and confidence, so they view money as something they can manage rather than something that manages them.

Free, classroom-ready programs, like Everfi’s digital courses, make teaching financial literacy for middle school students as consistent and confident as teaching any other core skill. And, because everything is built and delivered online, teachers can integrate the lessons into their existing routines and track student progress without adding planning time or cost.

More than 750,000 teachers across the country are already investing in their students’ futures through Everfi’s free Financial Literacy Toolkit. Download today to access 100+ turnkey & free lessons for grades 3-12 that give your students the tools and the confidence to create a brighter financial future.