Are we preparing students for “the real world?” Obviously that answer is, of course. However, there are elements of the “real world” that perhaps schools could do a better job of preparing students for. I am a math teacher, one obvious application of math is paying taxes. I have gone over sales tax with students, but what about filing income taxes? Never. Why? No good reason other than it is not in my textbook curriculum. Bottom line, it is not easy for me. I am not sure I fully understand paying taxes. I pay way too much money to have my taxes done for me. Possibly, because I didn’t learn in school how to pay taxes.
EVERFI is trying to make it easy to teach students about paying taxes.
Financial Literacy is Important
As a teacher, you know that financial literacy is an important skill that your students will need for the rest of their lives. With the EverFi course, you have a powerful tool at your disposal that can help your students learn how to manage their finances wisely. Here are some tips on how to incorporate the EverFi course into your teaching:
As a teacher, you may be wondering why it is important to teach financial literacy to your students. Here are some reasons why financial literacy is an essential life skill:
Promotes financial well-being
Financial literacy is about understanding how to manage money wisely. By teaching your students financial literacy, you are equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed financial decisions that will promote their financial well-being over their lifetime.
Essential for personal and professional success
Whether your students plan to pursue further education, start their own business, or enter the workforce, financial literacy is essential for their success. In today’s economy, financial literacy is a key component of personal and professional success.
Help break the cycle of poverty
Many students come from families with limited financial resources. By teaching financial literacy, you can help break the cycle of poverty by equipping your students with the knowledge and skills they need to manage their finances wisely and make informed decisions about their future.
Teaches critical thinking skills
Financial literacy is not just about learning how to manage money. It is also about developing critical thinking skills that will be valuable in many aspects of life. By teaching financial literacy, you are helping your students develop skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, and analysis.
Financial literacy is a life skill
Finally, financial literacy is a life skill that your students will use for the rest of their lives. By teaching financial literacy, you are giving your students the tools they need to manage their finances, avoid debt, and plan for the future.
If not you, then who?
EVERFI
As a busy teacher, you are always looking for ways to teach your students real-world skills that they will need in the future. One of the most important of these skills is financial literacy, and that’s where the EVERFI course can help.
EVERFI’s Financial Literacy for High School Students is a comprehensive, online course that teaches students how to make wise financial decisions and promotes financial well-being over their lifetime. The course is broken down into seven easily consumable modules that take just 20-35 minutes each to complete.
Lessons do NOT have to be completed in one sitting
The course is interactive and engaging, with immersive digital environments and diverse characters that bring modern, relevant financial education objectives to life. Students accelerate their financial understanding through problem-solving, self-reflection, and games that provide real-life scenarios for practice.
Tax Simulation Built In
One of the most valuable parts of the EVERFI course is the embedded Tax Simulation, which teaches students how to file taxes. This interactive taxes activity is a great way to help your students understand how to navigate the complex world of taxes.
Through the EVERFI course, students will build an understanding of how financial institutions work, how to use them, the different products they offer, and how to manage their own account portfolio. By completing the course, students will be equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to make wise financial decisions that will promote financial well-being over their lifetime.
It’s Free!
So, if you’re a busy teacher looking for a way to teach your students important real-world skills, consider using the EVERFI Financial Literacy for High School Students course. It’s free, online, and easily consumable, making it the perfect addition to your curriculum.
Assign Students the Course
Log into your Free EVERFI teacher account. Add the course to your account and send students to everfi.com/student and enter the Registration Code to get started.
Tax Simulations
One thing I like about EVERFI courses is that students do not have to complete the module in one sitting. This makes EVERFI the perfect supplement to assign to students for when they finish early. Students simulate choosing a job and the steps they will expect for how to fill out tax paperwork and filing taxes.
Helping High School Students with How To File Their Taxes
Students come back to thank us when they realize that what they learned in school actually helps them. You can not avoid death and taxes so every student is going to have a reason to rejoice when we intentionally help them be prepared for paying taxes in the workplace.
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Ways to Incorporate the EVERFI & Tax course
Make it part of your curriculum
The first step to incorporating the EverFi course into your teaching is to make it part of your curriculum. Decide which lessons you want to cover, and how much time you want to allocate to each one. You can also use the course to supplement other financial literacy materials you may already be using in your classroom.
Use it as a springboard for class discussions
The EverFi course is designed to be interactive and engaging, which makes it a great springboard for class discussions. After students complete a lesson, ask them to share their thoughts and insights on what they have learned. You can also use the course to spark debates on financial issues such as credit card debt, student loans, and retirement savings.
Assign it as supplemental
Since the EverFi course is an online course, it can be easily assigned as supplemental to your curriculum. This is a great way to make sure that your students are keeping up with their financial literacy lessons. You can even create assignments that require students to reflect on what they have learned and how they plan to apply it in their own lives.
Supplement it with real-life examples
One of the best ways to reinforce the lessons from the EverFi course is to supplement them with real-life examples. For example, you can bring in guest speakers to talk about their own financial experiences, or use news articles to discuss current financial issues. This will help your students understand how the concepts they are learning in the course apply to the real world.
Teach Real World Skills with EVERFI
The EverFi course is a valuable tool for teaching financial literacy to high school students. By incorporating it into your curriculum, using it to spark class discussions, assigning it as supplemental activities, supplementing it with real-life examples, and utilizing the Tax Simulation, you can help your students develop the skills they need to manage their finances wisely.
