North Dakota High School Personal Finance: Six Starter Lessons and Units
North Dakota High School Personal Finance: Six Starter Lessons and Units
If your North Dakota school teaches money skills inside economics, problems of democracy or a CTE class, the Personal Finance Starter Bundle ($59.99) gives you six ready pieces: a course launch lesson, values and goals lessons, a money mindset quiz, a unit on handling money and avoiding debt, and a percentages and interest unit. It is a starter set, not a full semester.
Open the finance bundleThe Personal Finance Starter Bundle costs $59.99 for six resources that would be $78.94 bought separately. It opens with a Day 1 lesson with slides, workbook and notes, moves through the wheel of life, SMART financial goals and a money mindset quiz, and ends with handling money and debt prevention plus percentages and interest. It was not written for North Dakota and does not stand in for any required course.
The resources
Personal Finance Starter Bundle, Grades 9–12
6 resources in one download: $59.99 instead of $78.94 bought separately.
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Personal Finance Starter Bundle | Money Mindset, SMART Goals, Budgeting, Debt & Interest | Grades 9–12
Career Readiness Curriculum Bundle | Personal Finance, Job Applications, Workplace Communication & AI at Work | 8 Units | Grades 9–12
Everyday & Financial Math Bundle | Percentages, Interest, Ratio and Business Maths | 3 Units | Grades 7–12
Accounting & Economics Fundamentals Bundle | Journal Entries, Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Markets & Marketing | 9 Units | Grades 10–12
The real problem
Where money lessons sit in a North Dakota schedule
North Dakota's graduation worksheet asks for three units of social studies, and the slot finance teaching most often borrows from is the second one: half a unit of U.S. government with half a unit of economics, or a full unit of problems of democracy instead. Economics is required unless the problems of democracy route is taken. So personal finance tends to arrive as a few weeks inside one of those courses, or inside a career and technical education class under the North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education, where CTE courses count toward the three-unit block shared with foreign languages, Native American languages and fine arts. Whether your district runs a separate personal finance course, and what it must contain, is a question for your district or the Department of Public Instruction. For home-educated teens, HSLDA's summary lists concepts of personal finance within high school social studies. In every version the practical problem is the same: a short window, students who arrive with very different ideas about money, and no time to build lessons from nothing. North Dakota also passed a school cell phone law in 2025 (HB 1160), so check your building's policy before planning any task that assumes phones are out.
Why it fits
What the six pieces give a North Dakota teacher
Each resource stands alone, so you can drop one into economics or a CTE class without teaching the whole set.
- The Day 1 lesson with slides, workbook and notes launches a finance block inside economics.
- Wheel of Life connects money to students' real values before any numbers appear.
- SMART Financial Goals turns vague wishes into written plans students can revisit later in the course.
- The money mindset quiz sorts students into saver, spender, avoider or investor for a quick discussion.
- Handling Money and Debt Prevention gives problems of democracy classes a full unit on everyday money decisions.
- Percentages and Interest practices discounts, tax and simple interest, the math behind most money choices.
Getting started
A three-week block inside economics or CTE
One possible order, offered as a suggestion. Stretch or compress it to the time your course gives you.
- Check your course and district rulesConfirm with your district which course carries personal finance and what it expects. Then decide which of the six resources you need and which you can skip.
- Week 1: launch and valuesTeach the Day 1 lesson, then Wheel of Life. Students leave the first week having named, in writing, what they actually care about spending money on.
- Week 2: goals and mindsetRun the money mindset quiz as a warm-up, then the SMART Financial Goals lesson. Keep the goal sheets so students can revise them at the end of the block.
- Week 2–3: money and debtTeach Handling Money and Debt Prevention as the core of the block. It carries the main content on everyday money decisions and deserves full class periods.
- Close with the mathFinish with Percentages and Interest so students calculate what debt and discounts really cost. Use the answer keys to mark quickly before grades are due.
What to buy
Starter bundle or something bigger
For a finance block inside economics, problems of democracy or advisory, the Personal Finance Starter Bundle at $59.99 (parts $78.94) is the right size. If you teach a CTE or career class, the Career Readiness Curriculum Bundle ($99.99, parts $199.92) includes the same debt prevention unit plus résumés, interviews, professional email and AI at work. Teachers who want more number practice can add the Everyday & Financial Math Bundle ($49.99, parts $69.97). A business or accounting teacher should look at the Accounting & Economics Fundamentals Bundle ($109.99, parts $224.91), with journal entries, the income statement and supply and demand.
Honest limits
Honest limits for North Dakota classrooms
These six resources are a starter set, not a full course, and they were not written for North Dakota. There are no state standards codes, no North Dakota examples and no claim that they fulfill any graduation or course requirement. Check them against your district's course description and the Department of Public Instruction's current rules. Calculators and printing are on you. For use by a whole social studies or CTE department, message Teach Lessons first. If the bundle is not a fit, exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value; refunds are not paid in cash.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Does this fulfill a North Dakota personal finance requirement?
No product can promise that, and this one is not aligned to or approved under any North Dakota standard or graduation rule. On the state graduation worksheet, finance most often fits inside economics or problems of democracy. Ask your district or the Department of Public Instruction what your course must cover, then use the bundle where it fits.
How much class time does it fill?
That depends on how deep you go. The six pieces are a course launch lesson, three shorter pieces on values, goals and mindset, and two units on debt and on percentages and interest. It works well as a block of a few weeks; treat any pacing as a starting point rather than a fixed schedule.
Can I use it in a CTE class?
Yes, if your CTE course includes money management. The resources are general and not tied to any program of study, so check them against your NDCTE course outline. For a broader career class, the Career Readiness Curriculum Bundle adds applications, interviews and workplace communication to the same debt prevention unit.
Do students need phones or apps?
No. The bundle is slides, workbooks, worksheets and answer keys, and none of it requires student devices or accounts. That keeps it simple in schools following North Dakota's 2025 phone law and their own building policies. If you want students to try a budgeting app, that is your choice and your setup.
Will it work for a homeschooled teen?
It can. HSLDA's summary of North Dakota law lists concepts of personal finance within high school social studies for home education. The bundle gives a parent ready lessons on goals, debt and interest. Check the current law with the state or a homeschool legal resource; this is not legal advice.
Can the whole department share it?
The licence covers use in your own teaching. If colleagues in economics or CTE want the same files, send Teach Lessons a short message before buying to set up team use. Uploading the files to a public site or sharing them outside your school is not allowed.
Get the first money lesson ready for Monday
Open the product page to see all six parts and decide where they fit in your course.
Open the finance bundle