In the activity PLAY: Should They Open a Credit Card, students will analyze the profiles of a few different individuals and determine whether opening a credit card is a smart choice for them. There are many creative ways this activity can be incorporated in the classroom. We’ve listed some ideas that may work well for a synchronous and asynchronous virtual learning environment.

Synchronous Environment Ideas:

• Display the scenario slide and put students into small group breakout rooms to discuss which payment type they would recommend as well as the other questions prompts. Change the breakout rooms for each scenario, allowing students to discuss the scenarios with different group members. When finished, conduct a whole-class discussion based on the reflection questions.
• Use the idea presented in the activity’s Teacher Guide and have students bring a green and a red paper to class. Present the first scenario slide. If students think the answer is: 
• YES → they hold up the green card 
• NO → they hold up the red card

          Call on different students to explain their reasoning. Continue digging deeper into their answers by asking the remaining two questions for each scenario. Repeat this idea for each scenario in the activity.

Asynchronous Environment Ideas:

• Assign the activity as written by providing students with both the slide deck of scenarios and the worksheet for responses and reflection. 
• If you use Google Classroom, create a Question for each scenario. This will allow students to provide their answer to the scenario and after submitting their response, will be able to see and reply to their classmates' responses. Students can review responses and explanations to answer the reflection questions. 

No Tech?

• If you have students who do not have digital access, you can simply print and distribute both the worksheet and scenario slide deck. You will have to customize the activity since students will not be testing their classmates with the scenarios they have written. 

View NGPF’s Virtual Adaptation Series if you’re looking for additional resources with suggestions on how to facilitate in a virtual environment. 

About the Author

Amanda Volz

Amanda joins the NGPF Team with over 20 years of experience teaching personal finance. During that time, she led her students to hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships, won multiple awards, and most importantly, impacted the financial lives of thousands of high school students. Amanda prides herself on being an educational leader and is constantly looking for innovative ways to make the classroom relevant, rigorous, and fun. She is a passionate advocate for financial education and has been a long-time member of the NGPF community. Fun fact - Amanda was NGPF’s first teacher account! When Amanda isn’t working, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and traveling with her husband and two children.