Financial Literacy: My Budget Project for Elementary (Gr 3-6)

Here’s a realistic and engaging way to teach upper elementary pupils in grades 3-6 about budgeting while introducing some basic financial literacy too!

How to Use:

1) Each student will be assigned a monthly budget (from $1,700 all the way to $5,000).

2) They select one of three options (low, medium, pricey) for each spending category: housing, eating, transportation, technology, & clothing. They might find that they have to change their choices as they move through the process. Making sacrifices is part of budgeting in real life too!

3) Students add up the amounts they spend and calculate how much they can save per month (and throughout the entire year).

4) They pick what luxury option they would save for over time: a car, a video game system, a vacation, or a house.

This lesson is full of fun and bright visuals and charts that are well-organized to ensure that this math learning is accessible to all the students in your class!

Math skills needed:

Addition - up to 1,000

Subtraction - 4-digit numbers

Multiplication - 4-digit numbers by 12

Grades to Use With:

This lessons is designed to be accessible to younger students in the elementary years (grades 3-6) because it uses simple math skills and bright and engaging visuals. It could also be an excellent resource for a high school special education classroom!

What's Included:

A total of 10 pages:

Title Page

Different Student Budgets to Assign

Student Title Page

Budget Spreadsheet

5 pages of options (housing, eating, transportation, technology, and clothing)

Savings Spreadsheet

If you enjoy this project, please check out other math and financial literacy activities in my store: Grace Under Pressure!

I strive to help students see how the math skills they learn in the classroom are super helpful in everyday life!

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