Grade 7 Math: Financial Literacy unit
Students learn how to make informed money choices. They compare exchange rates and change money both ways, judge sources of financial information, build and adjust a monthly budget for a savings goal, and look at how personal and community factors shape choices. They then explore simple and compound interest, work out the cost of borrowing, and compare accounts and loans by rates and fees. In the two-day performance task, students plan a savings fund for a trip abroad. All numbers, rates and institutions are made up.
What's included
- Unit overviewBig ideas, expectations by code, learning goals and success criteria
- Day-by-day calendar16 days planned, including catch-up and review days
- 11 three-part lessonsMinds On, Action and Consolidation, with timings, questions to ask and common mistakes
- Lesson slidesA ready-to-project deck for every lesson: goals, worked examples, discussion questions and exit tickets, with your lesson steps in the speaker notes
- Student worksheets with answer keys100 questions in all, every numeric answer checked by software
- Diagnostic and quick checksA Day 1 diagnostic and 3 quick checks to adjust your teaching
- Performance task and rubric“Rae's Trip Fund Plan”, with a rubric across all four achievement chart categories
- Unit test and answer key45 marks, sorted by achievement chart category
- AccommodationsSupports for students with IEPs, English language learners, and extensions
Look inside
These are real pages from the unit.
Day-by-day calendar
| Day | Lesson or assessment | Expectations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diagnostic and unit launch | |
| 2 | Lesson 1: Needs, wants and what shapes our choices | F1.4 |
| 3 | Lesson 2: Exchange rates: reading and comparing | F1.1 |
| 4 | Lesson 3: Changing Canadian dollars to other currencies, and back (Quick check 1) | F1.1 |
| 5 | Lesson 4: Reliable sources for a money goal | F1.2 |
| 6 | Lesson 5: Income, expenses and a monthly budget | F1.3 |
| 7 | Lesson 6: A budget for a savings goal | F1.3 |
| 8 | Lesson 7: Tracking and adjusting a budget (Quick check 2) | F1.3, F1.4 |
| 9 | Lesson 8: Simple interest | F1.5 |
| 10 | Lesson 9: Compound interest and the power of time | F1.5 |
| 11 | Lesson 10: The cost of borrowing (Quick check 3) | F1.5 |
| 12 | Lesson 11: Comparing accounts and loans | F1.6 |
| 13 | Performance task: Rae's Trip Fund Plan (part 1) | F1.1, F1.2, F1.6 |
| 14 | Performance task: Rae's Trip Fund Plan (part 2) | F1.3, F1.5 |
| 15 | Review: stations and practice test | All |
| 16 | Unit test | All |
Lesson 1: Needs, wants and what shapes our choices
Learning goal: We are learning to tell needs from wants and to describe what pushes our money choices.
Success criteria:
- I can sort purchases into needs and wants and explain why.
- I can name personal and community factors that affect a money choice.
- I can describe what each factor might lead a person to do.
Minds On (10 min)
- Show three purchases: a winter coat, a video game, a bus pass. Ask: "Which of these do you think a person has to buy, and which can wait?"
- Let pairs argue one case. Note that people sometimes sort the same item differently.
Action (35 min)
- Teach the words need and want. A need is something you must have to live, learn or work. A want is something that is nice to have.
- Introduce factors: personal (your values, your savings, your age), family and culture (traditions, what your family spends on), and community (advertising, prices, friends, the cost of living).
- Model sorting the purchases on the worksheet and finding the share spent on wants.
- Students complete the worksheet. Remind them that families and communities face different money situations and that no one needs to share their own.
Consolidation (15 min)
- Discuss question 4. Collect factors on chart paper under personal, family, and community.
- Ask which factor is easiest to control and which is hardest.
- Exit: "Name one factor that could change what someone buys, and say what it might make them do."
Needs, wants and influences
Prices are made up. Show your work.
- Sam made a list of six purchases: Winter coat ($89), Video game ($64), Bus pass ($58), Name-brand sneakers ($140), A month of school lunches ($45), Streaming subscription ($12). The coat, the bus pass and the lunches are needs. What is the total cost of the needs?
- The other three items are wants. What percent of the whole list ($408) is spent on wants? Round to the nearest whole percent.
- Sam really wants the $140 sneakers because friends have them. Sam can save $30 a month. How many months will it take?
- Write one personal factor, one family or culture factor, and one community factor that could change what a person buys. Say what each might make the person do.
- Because of rising prices, a school lunch went from $4.50 to $5.40. By what percent did it go up?
- Name one thing a family could do if prices go up but income does not.
Answer keys with worked steps are in the Teacher Guide.
Performance task: Rae's Trip Fund Plan
Rae, 18, wants to take an 8-day trip to Europe in 12 months. Rae's budget for the trip, in euros, is: lodging 640, food 240, travel passes 120, sights 160. Rae wants a 10% cushion on top. The exchange rate today is 1 EUR = $1.50 CAD. Rae has $900 saved already. Rae's income is $1900 a month. Expenses: Rent $780, Food $300, Phone $50, Transit $110, Fun $150. Account A pays 2.5% with no fee. Account B pays 3.5% with a $3 monthly fee. Use simple interest for one year on the $900. These numbers are made up for practice. They are not real rates.
| Category | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge and Understanding | Shows limited understanding of exchange rates, budgets or interest, with major errors. | Shows some understanding of exchange rates, budgets and interest, with several errors. | Shows considerable understanding of exchange rates, budgets and interest, with few errors. | Shows thorough understanding of exchange rates, budgets and interest, with almost no errors. |
| Thinking | Compares accounts or plans with limited effectiveness. | Compares accounts and plans with some effectiveness. | Compares accounts and plans with considerable effectiveness and explains the choice. | Compares accounts and plans with a high degree of effectiveness and explains what could change the best choice. |
| Communication | Work and explanations are unclear and hard to follow. | Work and explanations are somewhat clear, with some missing steps. | Work and explanations are clear, organized and use money language correctly. | Work and explanations are clear, well organized and use money language precisely and with confidence. |
| Application | Uses rates, budgets and interest in this situation with limited effectiveness. | Uses rates, budgets and interest in this situation with some effectiveness. | Uses rates, budgets and interest in this situation with considerable effectiveness. | Uses rates, budgets and interest in this situation with a high degree of effectiveness and adjusts the plan well. |
Lessons in this unit
- Needs, wants and what shapes our choicesLearning to tell needs from wants and to describe what pushes our money choices.F1.4
- Exchange rates: reading and comparingLearning to read an exchange rate and use it to change foreign money into Canadian dollars.F1.1
- Changing Canadian dollars to other currencies, and backLearning to change Canadian dollars into foreign money and to see why changing back can cost more.F1.1
- Reliable sources for a money goalLearning to find and judge sources of information that help us reach a money goal.F1.2
- Income, expenses and a monthly budgetLearning to build a monthly budget that records income and expenses.F1.3
- A budget for a savings goalLearning to plan a budget that reaches a longer-term savings goal by a set date.F1.3
- Tracking and adjusting a budgetLearning to compare planned and actual spending and to adjust a plan when life changes.F1.3, F1.4
- Simple interestWe are learning how simple interest works on savings and on borrowed money.F1.5
- Compound interest and the power of timeWe are learning how compound interest makes savings grow faster than simple interest, especially over a long time.F1.5
- The cost of borrowingLearning to work out what borrowing really costs over time.F1.5
- Comparing accounts and loansLearning to compare interest rates and fees and choose the best account or loan for a situation.F1.6
Ontario curriculum expectations covered
- F1.1
- Compare exchange rates and use them to change Canadian dollars into other currencies and back again.
- F1.2
- Name trustworthy sources of financial information and explain what makes a source reliable when planning toward a money goal.
- F1.3
- Build, track and revise sample budgets that help reach a longer-term savings goal in different situations.
- F1.4
- Describe personal, family and community influences on money decisions and what each can lead to.
- F1.5
- Explain how interest rates change what savings grow to and what borrowing costs over time.
- F1.6
- Compare rates and fees on accounts and loans from different lenders and pick the best fit for a given situation.
Questions about this unit
How long is this unit?
16 school days: 11 lessons plus a diagnostic, a catch-up day, a two-day performance task, a review day and the unit test.
Which expectations does it cover?
F1.1, F1.2, F1.3, F1.4, F1.5, F1.6 from Mathematics (2020), Strand F: Financial Literacy.
What format are the files?
Each unit comes as a Teacher Guide and Student Pages, both as editable Word files and print-ready PDFs, plus a PowerPoint deck of lesson slides. The Word files open in Google Docs and the slides open in Google Slides, so you can change anything.
Can I share it with my colleagues?
A single licence is for one teacher's classes. For a grade team, the team licence covers up to 5 teachers at one school for $49.99.
What if it isn't right for my class?
Email help@unitplans.ca within 7 days of buying for a full refund.