Updated 8/3/2022: Click below and register today for one of the two engaging virtual PDs that focus on first day activities! 

If you’re looking for a “first day of school” activity — or, if that’s over, but you’re looking for a hook or ice breaker to a new unit —  here are two ideas submitted recently by NGPF Fellows, who were using their Fellow network to share ideas:

Amanda has used a rendition of the Retail Alphabet Game, which we’d never heard of, but you can find info about here. There are multiple editions, each challenging participants to identify which corporate logo each letter of the alphabet was lifted from. It’s a real brainteaser! I think it would be a great kick-off to a unit on consumer decision making or a lesson on needs vs. wants.

• Here's another corporate logo game: Can you draw these corporate logos from memory? 

Jill likes the hands-on activity, getting students out of their seats and working as a team, that the Pitfall Game provides. To put it in context, Jill adds, “The tarp is like the road of life. Sometimes we will realize our financial goal and sometimes the goal will not be reached. Either way, if we work as a team and openly discuss our goals and communicate them effectively, we will have a much higher chance of achieving them.” And, practically, she adds she bought some $3 tablecloths from Walmart and used a powder Gatorade container lid (~4″ diameter) for the 11 holes she cut in each tablecloth. She found the activity here. 

Elizabeth has students grapple with their money values at the outset of her course. Here's how she structures this lesson to foster conversation and introspection. 

About the Author

Jessica Endlich

When I started working at Next Gen Personal Finance, it's as though my undergraduate degree in finance, followed by ten years as an educator in an NYC public high school, suddenly all made sense.