Financial Literacy for Kids
Want to teach your students how to earn money, manage it, and spend it wisely? Young Americans Bank is the ONLY bank in the world designed specifically for young people. Located in Denver, Colorado, young people ages 21 and younger can open their own savings and checking accounts or even obtain a debit or credit card. They offer classes, camps, and activities at their Denver location, but since we’re not in Denver, we can still take advantage of MoneyIsland, an online game that will allow you to solve money puzzles and answer banking riddles. There are many lesson plans for teachers and parents covering topics like saving, spending, investing, sharing money, credit, net worth, taxes, and interest.
Google Scholar
We all love Google searches, sure, but you can get a head-start on ‘serious’ research with Google Scholar! Do your students have a research paper coming due and they claim the library was closed? Show them Google Scholar…here you can search across many disciplines and sources including articles, theses, books, abstracts, and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities, and other websites.
iCivics
In 2009, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor founded iCivics with the purpose of preparing young Americans to become informed, engaged 21st century citizens. iCivics contains the nation’s most comprehensive, standards-aligned civics curriculum available freely on the web. ICivics includes 16 educational video games on topics like voting, immigration, constitutional law, the federal budget, and more…including classroom-tested teaching materials!
The Critical Thinking Community: Article Database
A treasure-trove of articles on how to use various critical thinking models/frameworks in any content area, at any age level. While you’re there, visit the “K-12 Instruction Strategies and Samples” link on the left side of the site for more resources you can use in your classroom as soon as this afternoon!