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Jun 18, 2023

Play Reality Check, Our Brand

Adventures in Math is a free educational program to help teach math skills and financial responsibility. Find interactive games, flash cards, lessons by grade level, family resources, and at-home

Adventures in Math is a free educational program to help teach math skills and financial responsibility. Find interactive games, flash cards, lessons by grade level, family resources, and at-home activities for students in grades K-8.

Adventures in Math is a free educational program to help teach math skills and financial responsibility. Find interactive games, flash cards, lessons by grade level, family resources, and at-home activities for students in grades K-8.

Congratulations! You’ve just graduated from college and gotten your first job. Time to make some decisions (housing, transportation, cell phone, and more). That’s the situation your middle school students will face in this new Reality Check game. They’ll get a salary and then navigate through a variety of financial choices (plus some surprises!), balancing their check register as they go. It’s a super-fun way to learn an essential, real-life skill. Give it a go!

First, you’ll need to download the PowerPoint or make a copy of the Google Slides, as well as print and copy the Check Register worksheet for each student. From there, you have two options:

Whole Group: Display the presentation on a screen or interactive whiteboard. Share the gameplay instructions on Slide 2. Click through the slides. At each choice, stop and allow students to read (or read aloud) the options. Invite students to make a choice and record it on their Check Register. Once you’ve gone through all 12 choices, have students take a look at their ending balance. Is it over $200? Under? This is a great opportunity to talk about financial choices and discretionary spending.

Independent: If you’re on Google Classroom, you can assign the presentation to students there. They can complete the game as independent work (synchronous or asynchronous) or homework. They’ll be working through the slide choices on their own. With this option, you can have them return to earlier choices and make adjustments if they ever dip below a $0 balance.

However you choose to play the game (whole group or individually), you’ll want to bring the class back together for a debriefing of their learning. Try these questions to guide your discussion:

Do your students need a refresher on financial vocabulary? Try these flash cards!

Download the PowerPoint File

Get the Google Slides Link

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