Financial Literacy: Interest Rates - Lending and Borrowing Money

Financial Literacy: Interest Rates - Lending and Borrowing Money

This ready to go lesson allows challenging financial concepts to become accessible for high school students. The aim is to cut through the complex jargon connected with interest rates and provide a straightforward framework perfect for understanding current economic events. You can help your students understand why adults keep talking about interest rates these days!

This lesson includes:

• A two-page handout, filled with notes and blanks, designed to help teach students about the fundamentals of interest rates

• Easy explanation of what interest is, plus its role when investing and borrowing

• Simplified explanation of how Canada and the US set their interest rates

• A basic discussion on why these rates can shift over time

• Information about how the bank "always wins" and how interest rates can vary widely depending on the lender

• A practical sample question showing how to calculate an interest payment on any bill

• Real-world situations – 4 practice questions about house mortgages, Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs), credit card debts, payday loans: these will help your students practice using the skills they have just learned.

• A complete answer key

Grades to Use With:

This lesson requires an understanding of percentages written as decimals and an ability to calculate with them. It could be used in math classes in grades 7-9 to reinforce learning about percentages in a real-life situation. It could also be used in career and personal planning classes in grades 10-12 or in high school special education classrooms.

What's Included:

A total of 5 pages in PDF format:

Title Page

Two Page Handout and Worksheet

Two Page Answer Key

If you enjoy this real-wold financial literacy lesson, check out others in my store!

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Income Tax: Notes and Practice Calculations

Household Budget Project