Wages. Salaries. Creating a personal budget. Determining net worth.
These are all concepts that your middle schoolers will use at some point in their lives. But at this stage of their education, many of them have little familiarity with these financial literacy topics.
Financial literacy lesson plans
Below, check out some of our financial literacy lesson plans for middle school, complete with full downloadable worksheets and answer keys, while teaching your students about topics such as choosing a bank, protecting your credit, and building personal budgets.
These lessons may be particularly useful during Financial Literacy Month in April. But financial literacy is a topic that can be emphasized year-round!
Becoming a knowledgeable consumer and investor
Learn about choosing a bank, protecting your credit, and paying for college. Plus, explore wages, salaries, and careers.
- Are You Ready? Learn about Fractions, Decimals, and Percent
- Choosing a Bank
- Protecting Your Credit
- Paying for College
- Wages, Salaries, and Careers
Making knowledgeable purchasing decisions
Help students learn about sales and income tax, as well as simple and compound interest, with these activities.
- Are You Ready? Learn about Percents and Decimals
- Calculating Sales and Income Tax
- Calculating and Comparing Simple and Compound Interest
- Making Purchasing Decisions
Planning for the future
Learn about personal budgets, planning a budget, and constructing a net worth statement.
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Math meets entrepreneurship
Don’t just tell your students about financial literacy; show it to them! Use this episode of Math at Work to teach your students how math is used in business. Share the video below so students can watch industry leaders discuss the importance of math in the real world. Then, have students complete the free downloadable lesson plans.
In the video, students present their business pitches to the sharks from the ABC® series Shark Tank: Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, and Kevin O’Leary. They then answer questions about their sales, prices, margins, and profits.
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More financial literacy lesson plans?
Have any more financial literacy activities for middle school students? Or have any tips for teaching this topic to Grades 6–8 students? Please email us your lesson plans at shaped@hmhco.com or reach out on Instagram or Facebook.
This blog, originally published in 2021, has been updated for 2025.
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