During this unique time in our community, we are doing our part to help ensure students continue their JA education at home and help parents make the most out of at-home learning.
Have ideas on other resources you’d like to see added? Send us a line.
Third Grade Lesson Plans
DAY 1: BUYING DECISIONS
Lesson 1 – Money Smart for Young People, Module 1: Buying Decisions
Understanding the difference between needs and wants helps children learn to prioritize how they use their money so they can spend it wisely.
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Parent-led lesson with additional games and recommended reading
- Time: 30 minutes
Lesson 2 – JA Choosing a Financial Institution
Help customers find the financial institution that meets their saving and spending needs.
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Printable parent-led activity
- Time: 10 minutes
Lesson 3 – Making Cents: Financial Literacy for Young Learners – Saving Over Time, and Spend, Save, Share Videos
Two short, 45-second videos that help children learn about smart money choices they can make every day to be savvy shoppers and savers.
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Videos
- Time: 5 minutes
Lesson 4 – JA Money Tracker and BINGO
*Watch instructional video here
Young students learn how to keep track of the money you have in a bank. Watch the video on using the Money Tracker and then play the BINGO game.
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Download and print game with instructional video
- Time: 30 minutes
DAY 2: SAVVY SHOPPERS
Lesson 1 – Money Smart for Young People, Module 2: Setting Goals
By setting goals and evaluating the purpose of advertising, children can make better saving and spending decisions.
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Parent-led lesson with additional games and recommended reading
- Time: 30 minutes
Lesson 2 – Cha-Ching Videos: Cha-Cha-Choices and Big, Big Waste of Money
The Cha-Ching gang learns about spending money wisely in two short videos with discussions questions. (Video links on worksheet)
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Videos with downloadable discussion questions
- Time: 10 minutes
Lesson 3 – JA History of Prices
Young students discover how people’s needs and desires affect the pricing of goods and services.
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Parent-led activity with online research and printable guide
- Time: 20 minutes
Lesson 4 – JA John’s Shopping Day
Do you like to shop? Help John choose what to buy and track what he is spending.
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Activity
- Time: 15 minutes
DAY 3: SPENDING CHOICES – DEBIT VS. CREDIT
Lesson 1 – Money Smart for Young People, Module 5: Payment Options
Having conversations about payment options helps children understand that credit and debit are not an endless supply of free money, but are linked to our actual savings accounts or short-term loans that must be paid back.
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Parent-led lesson with additional games and recommended reading
- Time: 30 minutes
Lesson 2 – Making Cents: Financial Literacy for Young Learners – Debit vs. Credit and Credit Scores Videos
Two short videos for young students that introduce saving for a goal and how check payments work.
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Videos
- Time: 5 minutes
Lesson 3 – JA Compare and Contrast Payment Methods
Young students compare the different ways people can pay for their wants and needs.
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Parent-led activity with printable worksheet
- Time: 15 minutes
Lesson 4 – JA The Debit Card Transaction
How does a debit card work? Follow these steps to learn how a bank gets your money to the store.
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Parent-led printable activity
- Time: 15 minutes
DAY 4: CAREERS YOU CAN DO!
Lesson 1 – Money Smart for Young People, Module 8: Exploring Careers and Income
Exploring personal interests, potential careers and the education needed to reach personal goals gets children thinking about their futures and practicing goal setting.
- Category: Career Exploration and Work Readiness
- Type: Parent-led lesson with additional games and recommended reading
- Time: 30 minutes
Lesson 2 – JA My Interests
Children complete a fun list of skills and hobbies to discover how their interests can lead to ideas for future careers.
- Category: Career Exploration and Work Readiness
- Type: Downloadable activity worksheet
- Time: 15 minutes
Lesson 3 – Career Exploration
Explore different career videos to see what careers you can do!
- Category: Career Exploration and Work Readiness
- Type: Videos
- Time: 15 minutes
Lesson 4 – Learning Economics with Minecraft
Students build a home in Minecraft while learning abut the different resources businesses use every day.
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Parent-led online course with resources and access to online game
- Time: 45 minutes
DAY 5: STEM CAREER QUEST
Lesson 1 – JA STEMBOT
Learn about STEM careers and practice STEM skills while solving puzzles and playing games.
- Category: Career Exploration and Work Readiness
- Type: Online interactive game
- Time: 30 minutes
Lesson 2 – JA Be an Engineer: Build a Robot
Engineers build items that help to do tasks every day. Become a mechanical engineer for a day and create a robot-helper to solve a problem or task!
- Category: Career Exploration and Work Readiness
- Type: Printable parent-led activity
- Time: 15 minutes
Lesson 3 – JA Robo Sellers Video Flyer
Fly your ship through the universe collecting and selling robot parts to start your own robot business. (Game link in worksheet)
- Category: Entrepreneurship
- Type: Downloadable instruction sheet and resources to use with online video game
- Time: 30 minutes
Lesson 4 – JA $ave: It is Never Too Early to Decide on a College
Let’s explore how to choose a college.
- Category: Financial Literacy
- Type: Parent-led resource with activities
- Time: 15 minutes