Many teachers are returning back to the classroom to teach their students in person or in a hybrid fashion. We know how challenging this transition can be, so here are THREE lessons we recommend using from the NGPF Middle School Course that are perfect for in-person or hybrid facilitation! 

#1: MS-1.1 Personal Finance Decision Making

As the first lesson in the NGPF Middle School Course, this lesson has students explore the behaviors and reasoning behind their money decisions. It's a great lesson to not only kick off the course, but also to round out the school year if you haven't already done it! Students learn about different money personalities and then engage with each other in the PLAY activity which encourages a lot of classroom discussion - perfect for in-person and hybrid instruction!  

#2: MS-3.5 Case Study: Let's Make a Budget!

Looking for a fun, discussion-based lesson to do with your students? Look no further than lesson 5 in the Middle School Course Budgeting unit! Featuring a case study, this lesson has students apply everything they've learned about budgeting and make real-world recommendations to help Shaun guide his younger cousin Virgil through his budgeting process. 

#3: MS-9.4 Career Exploration

As students are winding down for the school year, have them explore what a future career can look like through this lesson! Help students better understand various factors to consider when choosing a career through the article that's featured in the lesson. Then, have them look at the starting and median salaries for two careers in the Data Crunch so they can look at how pay can progress over one's career. This lesson is sure to spark engagement and lots of conversation amongst your students as you dive back into in-person and hybrid instruction! 

We hope these lessons help you and your students transition to in-person and hybrid learning! You can check out more middle lessons from the Middle School Course here! 

About the Authors

Sonia Dalal

Sonia has always been passionate about instruction and improving students' learning experiences. She's come a long way since her days as a first grader, when she would "teach" music and read to her very attentive stuffed animals after school. Since then, she has taught students as a K-12 tutor, worked in several EdTech startups in the Bay Area, and completed her Ed.M in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is passionate about bringing the high quality personal finance content and instruction she wished she'd received in school to the next generation of students and educators. When she isn't crafting lesson guides or working with teachers, Sonia loves to spend her time singing, being outdoors, and adventuring with family and friends!

Christian Sherrill

Former teacher, forever financial education nerd. As NGPF's Director of Growth & Advocacy, Christian is laser-focused on our mission to guarantee all students a rigorous personal finance course before crossing the high school graduation stage. Having paid down over $40k in student loans in the span of 3 years - while living in the Bay Area on an entry level teacher's salary - he's eager to help the next generation avoid financial pitfalls one semester at a time.