Help high school students develop practical banking skills with this six-week Personal Finance Unit 2: Banking for Grades 9–12. Students move beyond basic vocabulary to investigate checking and savings accounts, online banking, payment systems, mobile payments, deposit insurance, and financial system design through calculations, case studies, data analysis, spreadsheet modeling, investigations, and argument writing.

Please note: This listing includes the Unit 2 student book only. The accompanying teacher resources and bonus materials support the complete six-unit, 36-week Personal Finance curriculum.

The 99-page student unit covers Weeks 7–12. Each week follows a consistent eleven-part structure: reading, comprehension, vocabulary, 10 financial math problems, data analysis, case study, hands-on activity, spreadsheet modeling, argument writing, review, and extension.

Students begin by designing personal banking systems using bill accounts, spending accounts, sinking funds, savings, direct deposit splits, and automated transfers. They then compare savings options such as high-yield accounts, CDs, CD ladders, money market accounts, and Treasury bills based on access, yield, risk, and time horizon.

The payment systems lesson explores ACH, wire transfers, cards, real-time payments, clearing, settlement, reversibility, and stop payments. Students learn to select payment methods based on speed, cost, and risk. Another lesson examines peer-to-peer payment apps, fraud exposure, account protection, and insurance.

Students also investigate deposit insurance, coverage limits, account ownership, concentration risk, and what happens when a bank fails. The unit culminates in a Banking System Audit, where students design and defend a complete banking arrangement, calculate costs and benefits, consider liquidity and opportunity cost, and address potential risks and limitations.

Key activities include Banking System Design, CD Ladder Investigation, Payment Rails Comparison, P2P Payment Risk Analysis, Deposit Insurance Audit, and the Banking System Audit.

The complete teacher resource collection includes a 167-page Teacher Guide, answer keys, assessment rubrics, unit tests, 288 vocabulary cards, 72 exit tickets, parent letters, progress monitoring forms, games and simulations, printable posters, certificates, and editable lesson plans.

Students develop banking literacy, financial math, spreadsheet modeling, consumer awareness, critical thinking, and evidence-based decision-making skills. Alignment includes CEE, Jump$tart, and applicable Common Core mathematics and literacy standards.

This Banking unit helps students answer practical questions: How should accounts be structured? Where should savings be kept? Which payment method is appropriate? What protection applies? And does the overall banking system actually work in real life?