5-Day Curriculum Unit
Teach the other side of banking: the Modern Payments, Scams & Fraud Unit
Five teacher-ready days on how money actually moves — debit, credit, bank transfers, payment apps and wires — who is standing in the middle of each, and who can undo a payment once it has gone. Then the payoff: a scam is not a lie you failed to spot, it is a plan to get your permission. Grades 6–12 and adult education, with a free printable pacing guide.
See the Modern Payments, Scams & Fraud Unit → · Download the free pacing guide →
Banking
Banking Worksheets and Lesson Plans for Teachers
Classroom-ready lessons, worksheets, and interactive tools for teaching bank accounts, saving, interest, debit cards, and online banking. Grades 4–12.
About This Section
This section covers the core banking topics taught in personal finance and life skills classes — savings accounts, checking accounts, interest, ATMs, check writing, and online banking. Materials are designed for Grades 4–12 and adult education programs, and can be used in classroom instruction or for independent student practice.
You’ll find printable worksheets, structured lesson plans, video lessons, and interactive generators — including a complete checking account simulation where students record transactions and reconcile against a bank statement. Free samples are available; full access requires a MoneyInstructor membership.
Free Pacing Guide · 5-Day Curriculum Unit
Teaching the Full Banking Unit
Use this 5-day Banking & Checking unit to guide students through bank accounts, check writing, debit cards, online banking, saving habits, and the Checking Account Simulation. Includes a free printable pacing guide.
Free Pacing Guide · 5-Day Curriculum Unit
Teaching the Full Investing Unit
Use this 5-day Investing & Long-Term Growth unit to take students from which money can be left alone, through the account it lands in and the purchase everybody forgets to make, to what a fee costs in a year. Includes a free printable pacing guide.
Free Pacing Guide · 5-Day Curriculum Unit
Teaching the Full Saving Unit
Use this 5-day Saving & Emergency Funds unit to take students from why saving is hard, through simple and compound interest, to sizing a real emergency fund and choosing where to keep it. Includes a free printable pacing guide.
Featured Interactive Tool
The Online Banking Simulation
Give students a real online-banking experience without a real bank. Working from their own device, they log in, make deposits and withdrawals, transfer money, pay bills, and track a running balance — the everyday banking skills the whole unit builds toward, in a safe, teacher-managed classroom account.
- Realistic dashboard — deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and bill pay
- Privacy-first: no student email required, no ads or trackers
- You set up a class; students join with a class code and PIN
- Works on laptops, tablets, and phones — ready in one class period
- Each student has their own account and balance — no classroom economy required
- Pair it with the free printable check register so students keep their own record and reconcile it against the bank’s
Featured Topic
Check Writing Lessons & Worksheets
One of the most-taught banking skills, all in one place — how to write and endorse a check, keep a check register, and reconcile an account, plus free printable checks, worksheet generators, and an interactive check-writing tool.
Featured Resources
Banking resources for every grade level
A selection of lessons, worksheets, and interactive tools from the MoneyInstructor banking library — covering accounts, saving, interest, and modern digital banking.
Accounts & Saving
Balancing a Checkbook Worksheet Generator
Make bank-reconciliation worksheets — students match a bank statement to a checkbook register, list the outstanding checks and deposits, and prove the account balances. Whole dollars or cents, with a built-in answer key.
Full Members · Generator
Using an ATM Worksheet Generator
Make ATM practice worksheets — students walk through a deposit, a withdrawal, and a balance check on the ATM screens, choosing the right buttons and writing the amounts. A hands-on banking life-skill (no answer key).
Full Members · Generator
ATM Receipt Generator
Print realistic ATM receipt slips for a classroom bank — blank to fill in after a withdrawal, or filled for students to read and record in a check register. Add a service fee and students have to work out what really left the account.
Full Members · Printable
What Is a Bank Account?
An introductory lesson covering what bank accounts are, why people use them, and how they work.
Grades 6–12
Bank Savings Account Worksheet Generator
An interactive generator for practicing savings account records — deposits, withdrawals, and running balances across customizable scenarios.
Grades 6–12
What Is Saving?
A video lesson on why saving matters, how to get started, and the connection between spending decisions and building long-term financial security.
Grades 5–12
Saving for Freckles
A beginning-reader story about saving for a goal, paired with a comprehension worksheet — teaching money sense and reading together.
Grades K–2 · Lesson + Worksheet · Free Lesson
What Is a Savings Account?
A lesson covering how savings accounts work, how interest is earned, FDIC insurance, and how to use a savings account to reach a specific financial goal.
Grades 6–12
Types of Bank Accounts
A comparison lesson covering checking, savings, money market accounts, and CDs — features, advantages, and how to choose the right account for a financial goal.
Grades 8–12
Building Saving Habits
Saving Money — An Introduction
An introductory free lesson on why saving matters, how to get started, and how a savings account can help students work toward their goals.
Grades 4–6
Personal Savings
A free lesson on goal-based saving — how to set a savings goal, choose the right account, and build the habit of saving from allowance, work, or gift money.
Grades 6–12
Understanding Your Money Habits
A reflection-based activity where students identify their spending, saving, and sharing habits, classify them as helpful or harmful, and develop strategies to improve.
Grades 9–12
Saving Money When You Are Broke
Eight practical strategies for saving when income is limited — budgeting, cutting expenses, building an emergency fund, and automating savings.
Grades 7–12
Everyday Banking
What Is a Checking Account?
An online lesson and video covering what a checking account is, how it works, and how to use one responsibly — including debit cards, online banking, and tracking your balance.
Grades 7–12
What Is a Bank Statement?
Students learn to read a bank statement — identifying sections, reconciling their balance, and tracking deposits and withdrawals over time.
Grades 7–12
How to Open a Bank Account
A lesson covering the steps to open a bank account — account types, required documents, and what to expect when applying in person or online.
Grades 9–12
How to Use an ATM
Students learn how ATMs work — making withdrawals and deposits, checking balances, finding ATMs, and avoiding common transaction fees.
Grades 9–12ATM Banking Simulation
Students practise a whole ATM visit on a working on-screen machine — insert the card, enter a PIN, check a balance, withdraw cash, and take the receipt. Free interactive simulator + printable lesson plan.
Grades 7–12 & Adult · Lesson Plan + Free Simulator
What Is a Debit Card?
A lesson on debit card basics — how they connect to a checking account, benefits and drawbacks, and practical tips for protecting card information and tracking spending.
Grades 7–12
Online Banking Simulation
An interactive simulator where students practice real online banking transactions — deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and balance reviews — using a realistic interface on any device.
Grades 7–12How to Use MI Bank: Teacher & Student Guide
Step-by-step instructions for the MI Bank classroom banking simulator — for teachers setting up a class and for students using their account. Create a class, add students, run the bank; deposit, withdraw, transfer, and pay bills.
Teachers & Students
Welcome to MI Bank: Teacher Lesson Plan
A ready-to-teach lesson plan for showing students how to sign in to MI Bank, find their accounts, read a balance, and understand their transactions — with a free guided interactive activity.
Grades 4–12MI Banking Simulator: Checking Account Challenge
A guided classroom simulator where students practice checking-account transactions and reconcile a bank statement — a paycheck deposit, debit purchases, an ATM fee, a bill, and a savings transfer. Fictional practice money only, inside Money Instructor Classroom.
Grades 6–12
Checks & Check Writing
What Is a Check?
Students learn what checks are, the parts of a check, and how paper checks fit into personal banking today.
Grades 6–12
How to Write a Check
A lesson covering how to fill in a check correctly — payee, amount, date, memo, and signature — with practice scenarios.
Grades 6–12
How to Endorse a Check
Students learn the different types of check endorsements — blank, restrictive, and special — and when each is appropriate.
Grades 6–12
Printable Check Register
A printable check register with practice entries — students record transactions and maintain a running balance.
Grades 6–12
Checking Account Simulation
A complete 50-minute lesson — students record 9 real transactions in a check register and reconcile against a bank statement. Free sample available; full lesson with membership.
Grades 7–12
Checkbook Balancing
Reconciling a check register against a bank statement — outstanding checks and deposits, the reconciliation form, and worksheet generators with answer keys.
Grades 6–12
Interest & Growth
Quarterly Compound Interest Worksheet Generator
Make quarterly compound interest worksheets — students divide the annual rate by 4 and fill in the balance at the end of each quarter, compounding four times a year, with an answer key.
Full Members · Generator
What Is Interest? Introduction to Interest Rates
A video lesson introducing interest — what it is, how you earn it, and how it applies to savings and borrowing.
Grades 7–12
What Is Simple Interest?
Students learn the simple interest formula (I = P × R × T) and apply it to savings and loan scenarios — with an embedded video lesson and worksheet generator.
Grades 6–12
Introduction to Earning Interest Worksheet Generator
An interactive generator for practicing how interest is earned on savings — students calculate interest earned across customizable deposit scenarios.
Grades 7–12
Saving for Retirement Worksheet Generator
An interactive generator exploring retirement savings concepts — 401(k) basics, IRA options, savings rates, and the power of compound growth over time.
Grades 10–12
What Is Compound Interest?
Students explore how compound interest differs from simple interest, how compounding frequency affects growth, and real examples with savings and debt.
Grades 7–12
Saving & Compound Interest
A print-and-do packet on saving without interest, simple vs. compound interest, the Rule of 72, and why starting to save early can beat saving more later.
Grades 6–12 · Printable · Free Sample / Full MemberGrade Level Guide
Banking resources by grade level
What bank accounts are, saving basics, and introductory deposit and withdrawal practice.
Checking accounts, debit cards, ATM use, bank statements, and online banking.
Simple and compound interest, the Rule of 72, money market accounts, and savings growth strategies.
Finding the right bank account, cutting banking fees, identity theft prevention, and managing debt.
These resources are part of the full MoneyInstructor library
Members get unlimited access to worksheets, lesson plans, and teacher resources across every financial literacy topic — banking, budgeting, taxes, credit, and more.
Related Topics
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Where a home loan goes once students understand borrowing — down payments, the amount financed, and what a mortgage costs over its whole term.
Budgeting
Income, expenses, needs vs. wants, and personal budget planning.
Taxes
W-4s, W-2s, tax forms, sales tax, and real-world tax practice.
Credit
Credit scores, credit cards, loans, and borrowing basics.