Financial health learning objectives clearly define what students will know and be able to do as a result of each lesson. These objectives focus on developing functional health knowledge, building understanding related to the dimensions of health, and applying essential health skills to real-life situations. Every objective is designed to align with the SHAPE America National Health Education Standards, ensuring that instruction is comprehensive, skills-based, and leads to increased health literacy and promotes lifelong well-being.

The Goal: Students will build a foundation of money knowledge by learning what money is, how people earn it, and how to make simple spending and saving choices that support their well-being.

✅ Understand what money is and how people earn it by exploring coins, bills, and digital forms of payment.

→ Related SHAPE America Health Standard: #1: Build and Apply Functional Knowledge

✅ Build a basic understanding of budgeting by learning the difference between saving and spending, and identifying needs vs. wants.

→ Related SHAPE America Health Standard: #7: Practice Health-Enhancing Behaviors

✅ Recognize common money choices in everyday life and begin to connect financial decisions impact various dimensions of health

→ Related SHAPE America Health Standards: #2 Analyzing Influences and #5 Use a Decision-Making Process

Functional knowledge refers to the essential health concepts students need to understand in order to build awareness of how financial health shows up in their lives. This knowledge helps students make informed choices and lays the foundation for managing this aspect of their well-being with intention and confidence.

💡 What is money and what does it look like?

Students understand that money comes in different forms like coins, bills, and digital payments, and that it’s used to buy things we need and want.

💡 How do people earn money?

Students learn that people earn money by doing jobs and providing services in their communities.

💡 What does it mean to make a budget?

Students are introduced to the idea of budgeting by exploring the difference between spending and saving, and how to make simple money plans.

💡 What kinds of money choices do people make?

Students begin to recognize everyday money-related decisions, such as choosing to buy something now or saving for something later.

Activities are health education learning engagements that help students explore, interact with, and build deeper understanding of financial health and financial literacy. Each learning activity is designed to support a skills-based health approach and provide meaningful opportunities for students to explore the functional knowledge and practice the health skills.

🔎 Money Matching

Students match paper money samples and coins to their values to build recognition of how much different types of money are worth.

→ Connected to: What is money and what does it look like?

🔎 Job Gallery Walk

Students explore different jobs in the community by rotating through a gallery of careers and learning how each job earns money.

→ Connects to: How do people earn money?

🔎 Needs vs. Wants Sort

Students sort pictures or items into “needs” and “wants” to begin understanding how we make decisions with money.

→ Connects to: What does it mean to make a budget? And what kind of money choices do people make? 

🔎 Money Choice Scenarios

Students read or act out simple everyday situations (e.g., “spend money on candy or save for a toy”) to identify money-related decisions people make.

→ Connects to: What kinds of money choices do people make?

These financial health project-based learning assessments are designed to measure both what students understand and how well they can apply their functional health knowledge and health skills in meaningful, real-world ways. Each financial health assessment idea aligns with the SHAPE America National Health Education Standards and offers students a practical, hands-on learning experience. By actively using health skills to navigate realistic scenarios, students demonstrate their ability to think critically, make informed decisions, and take ownership of their well-being.

📚 Purchase Scenarios

Students solve real-life purchase scenarios by selecting the correct combination of bills and coins to pay for items.

→ Assesses: What is money and what does it look like?

📚 Career Research

Students choose a job that interests them, learn how it earns money, and share one important thing the job does for the community.

→ Assesses: How do people earn money?

📚 Needs vs. Wants Guide

Students create a simple guide or poster to help their peers understand the difference between needs and wants.

→ Assesses: What does it mean to make a budget?

📚 Money Decision Comic

Students draw a comic strip and write a short story that shows a character making a thoughtful money decision.

→ Assesses: What kinds of money choices do people make?

Financial health learning objectives clearly define what middle school students will know and be able to do as a result of each financial literacy lesson. These objectives focus on developing functional health knowledge, building understanding related to the dimensions of health, and applying essential health skills to real-life situations. Every objective is designed to align with the SHAPE America National Health Education Standards, ensuring that instruction is comprehensive, skills-based, and leads to increased health literacy and promotes lifelong well-being.

The Goal: Students will deepen their understanding of financial health by practicing real-life money skills, exploring how they earn and spend money, and examining the influences that shape their financial decisions.

✅ Build practical budgeting skills by managing a simple budget and tracking spending and saving.

→ Related SHAPE America Health Standard: #7: Practice Health-Enhancing Behaviors

✅ Learn how to earn money and build a basic business through school-based or real-life entrepreneurship opportunities.

→ Related SHAPE America Health Standard: #1: Build and Apply Functional Knowledge

✅ Explore how peers, family, and media influence spending habits and financial decision-making.

→ Related SHAPE America Health Standard: #2: Analyze Influences

Functional knowledge refers to the essential health concepts students need to understand in order to build awareness of how financial health and financial literacy shows up in their lives. This knowledge helps students make informed choices and lays the foundation for managing this aspect of their well-being with intention and confidence.

💡 What does it mean to create a budget?

Students learn how to build a simple budget by tracking income and expenses, helping them make intentional choices about how to use their money.

💡 How do you build and run a small business?

Students explore the basics of entrepreneurship by developing a simple business model and participating in a real-life opportunity to earn and manage money.

💡 What influences the way people spend money?

Students identify common spending habits and analyze how factors like peers, family, advertising, and social media shape their financial decisions.

Activities are health education learning engagements that help students explore, interact with, and build deeper understanding of financial health. Each financial literacy learning activity is designed to support a skills-based health approach and provide meaningful opportunities for students to explore functional knowledge and practice the health skills.

🔎 Budgeting Game

Students play an interactive budgeting game where they’re given a monthly “income” and must make choices about spending, saving, and unexpected expenses.

→ Connected to: What does it mean to create a budget?

🔎 Business Brain Dump

Students participate in a creative brainstorm session where they generate and share kid-friendly business ideas, then sketch out a basic plan for how they could earn and manage money.

→ Connected to: How do you build and run a small business?

🔎 Ad Break: Influence Analysis

Students watch kid-targeted ads or scroll through sample social media content, then identify what’s being sold, who it’s targeting, and how it tries to influence spending.

→ Connected to: What influences the way people spend money?

These financial health project-based learning assessments are designed to measure both what students understand and how well they can apply their functional health knowledge and health skills in meaningful, real-world ways. Each financial literacy assessment idea aligns with the SHAPE America National Health Education Standards and offers students a practical, hands-on learning experience. By actively using health skills to navigate realistic scenarios, students demonstrate their ability to think critically, make informed decisions, and take ownership of their well-being.

📚 Budget Scenario Challenge

Students are given a realistic spending scenario and must create a simple, relevant budget that includes saving, spending, and unexpected costs.

→ Assesses: What does it mean to create a budget? (SHAPE America Standards #1 and #5)

📚 Class Market Business Project

Students design and run a small business—creating a product or service, setting prices, and participating in a class market to apply entrepreneurship skills.

→ Assesses: How do you build and run a small business? (SHAPE America Standards #1 and #6)

📚 Personal Spending Guide

Students create a personalized spending cheat sheet, outlining their financial values, common spending traps, and decision-making strategies to guide their future money choices.

→ Assesses: What influences the way people spend money? (SHAPE America Standards #2 and #5)

Financial health learning objectives clearly define what students will know and be able to do as a result of each lesson. These objectives focus on developing functional health knowledge, building understanding related to the dimensions of health, and applying essential health skills to real-life situations. Every objective is designed to align with the SHAPE America National Health Education Standards, ensuring that instruction is comprehensive, skills-based, and leads to increased health literacy and promotes lifelong well-being.

✅ Create and maintain a personal budget that reflects real-life income and expenses.

→ Related SHAPE America Health Standards: #5 Decision Making and #7 Practice Health-Enhancing Behaviors

✅ Explore how financial health and security impact emotional, social, and mental well-being.

→ Related SHAPE America Health Standard: #1 Build and Apply Functional Knowledge

✅ Understand practical financial concepts including taxes, credit, debt, interest, and student loans.

→ Related SHAPE America Health Standards: #1 Build and Apply Functional Knowledge and #5 Decision Making

✅ Create a business model that demonstrates entrepreneurship and financial planning skills.

→ Related SHAPE America Health Standard: #6 Goal Setting

✅ Explore introductory investing concepts like stocks, compound interest, and long-term planning.

→ Related SHAPE America Health Standards: #1: Build and Apply Functional Knowledge

Functional knowledge refers to the essential health concepts students need to understand in order to build awareness of how financial literacy and financial health shows up in their lives. This knowledge helps students make informed choices and lays the foundation for managing this aspect of their well-being with intention and confidence.

💡 What it Means to Manage Income and Expenses

Students learn how to track income and expenses and create a realistic budget that reflects their personal needs, goals, and values.

💡 How Financial Health Impacts Overall Well-being

Students analyze how financial security, or the lack of it, affects emotional, social, and mental health, and explore how money choices influence long-term well-being.

💡 What Key Financial Systems You Need to Understand

Students build foundational knowledge of real-world financial concepts like taxes, credit, debt, interest, and student loans.

💡 How You Turn an Idea into a Business

Students create a business model that demonstrates entrepreneurship and includes basic financial planning, such as start-up costs and pricing.

💡 What It Means to Invest in Your Money

Students explore investing basics, including how stocks work, the power of compound interest, and long-term financial planning strategies.

Activities are health education learning engagements that help students explore, interact with, and build deeper understanding of financial health and financial literacy. Each learning activity is designed to support a skills-based health approach and provide meaningful opportunities for students to explore the functional knowledge and practice the health skills.

🔎 Income vs. Expense Sort

Students sort sample financial items (like rent, paychecks, groceries, subscriptions) into income or expenses and then use them to build a mock budget.

→ Connected to: What does it mean to manage income and expenses?

🔎 Financial Health Scenario Analysis

Students examine real-life scenarios (e.g., unexpected medical bill, losing a job, saving for college) and discuss how financial health was impacted and what could have helped.

→ Connected to: How does financial health impact overall well-being?

🔎 Financial Systems Game

Students play a life-inspired game where they navigate taxes, credit, debt, interest, and student loans while making financial choices that impact their well-being.

→ Connected to: What are key financial systems I need to understand as I become more independent?

🔎 Business Idea Rapid Fire

Students participate in a fast-paced brainstorm where they generate business ideas, then choose one to outline a basic business model including product/service, pricing, and startup needs.

→ Connected to: How do you turn an idea into a business?

🔎 Investing Match-Up

Students match investing concepts (e.g., stocks, compound interest) with their definitions and realistic scenarios to see how investing can impact their future.

→ Connected to: What does it mean to invest your money?

These financial literacy project-based learning assessments are designed to measure both what students understand and how well they can apply their functional health knowledge and health skills in meaningful, real-world ways. Each health assessment idea aligns with the SHAPE America National Health Education Standards and offers students a practical, hands-on learning experience. By actively using health skills to navigate realistic scenarios, students demonstrate their ability to think critically, make informed decisions, and take ownership of their well-being.

📚 Immersive Budgeting Challenge

Students participate in a detailed budgeting game where they must manage monthly income, expenses, savings, and emergencies in order to maintain financial stability and meet specific goals.

→Assesses: What does it mean to manage income and expenses?

📚 Class Market Business Launch

Students design a full business model and operate their business during a class market, applying entrepreneurial and financial planning skills in a real-world simulation.

→Assesses: How do you turn an idea into a business?

📚 Financial System How-To Guide

Students create a peer-to-peer resource that breaks down a key financial system (e.g., taxes, credit, debt, interest, student loans), using definitions, examples, and actionable tips.

→Assesses: What are key financial systems I need to understand as I become more independent?