In the activity PLAY: Payment Decisions, students will determine which payment type to use in a variety of scenarios. Students will weigh the pros, cons, and financial impact of using cash, a debit/prepaid card, a credit card, or P2P payment. There are many creative ways this activity can be incorporated in the classroom. We've listed some ideas that may work well for a synchronous or asynchronous virtual learning environment. 

Synchronous Environment Ideas:

• Display the scenario slide and put students into small group breakout rooms to discuss which payment type they would recommend. Change the breakout rooms for each scenario, allowing students to discuss the scenarios with different group members. When finished, conduct a whole-class discussion based on the reflection questions.
• Use a polling tool to survey students' responses to each scenario. Here is an example created in Nearpod that you can replicate. As students answer the poll questions, call on specific students to verbally explain to the group why they chose that payment method. 

Asynchronous Environment Ideas:

• Assign the activity as written by providing students with both the slide deck of scenarios and the worksheet for responses and reflection.
• If you use Google Classroom, create a Question for each scenario. This will allow students to provide their answers to the scenario and after submitting their response, will be able to see and reply to their classmates' responses. Students can review the discussion for each scenario to answer the reflection questions. 

No Tech?

• If you have students who do not have digital access, simply print and distribute both the worksheet and scenarios slide deck. You will have to customize the activity since students will not be reviewing their payment decisions with a partner.

Extension Ideas:

• To find more information and activities about these payment tools, visit the NGPF Checking Unit!

View NGPF's Virtual Adaptation Series if you're looking for additional resources with suggestions on how to facilitate in a virtual environment. 

About the Author

Amanda Volz

Amanda joins the NGPF Team with over 20 years of experience teaching personal finance. During that time, she led her students to hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships, won multiple awards, and most importantly, impacted the financial lives of thousands of high school students. Amanda prides herself on being an educational leader and is constantly looking for innovative ways to make the classroom relevant, rigorous, and fun. She is a passionate advocate for financial education and has been a long-time member of the NGPF community. Fun fact - Amanda was NGPF’s first teacher account! When Amanda isn’t working, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and traveling with her husband and two children.