How It Works: Curriculum
Overview
Our focus in developing CentsCity is to build skills in three primary, common-sense areas: managing money (i.e. creating a budget, checking versus savings account, and balancing a checkbook), borrowing money (i.e. owning a credit card, paying for college, and rent vs. mortgage), and growing money (i.e. buying & selling stocks, owning a business, and understanding compound interest).
Additionally, CentsCity is aligned with national standards published by the National Coalition of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy (National Standards in K-12 Financial Education Standards; 3rd Edition, 2007).
A comprehensive list of financial quests and the associated in-game locations appears below:
- The 70-10-10-10 Principle (The Eiffel Tower)
- Earned Income & Take Home Pay (The Statue of Liberty)
- Paying Your Bills (Easter Island)
- Setting Financial Goals (The Acropolis)
- Creating a Budget (The White House)
- Savings & Checking Accounts (The Sphinx)
- Balancing a Checkbook (The Great Wall)
- What is an Asset? (The Taj Mahal)
- Passive Income (Victoria Falls)
- Owning a Credit Card (Atlantis)
- Assets vs. Liabilities (The Colosseum)
- The Power of Compound Interest (Big Ben)
- Buying & Selling Stocks (Area 51)
- Paying for College (Sydney Opera House)
- Owning Real Estate (Stonehenge)
- Owning a Business (Hot Metal Bridge)
- Risk and insurance (Leaning Tower of Pisa)
- Buying a Car (Monte Carlo)
CentsCity Version 1.0 Standards
The full CentsCity version 1.0 will address specific standards from the Jump$tart Coalition's National Standards at the 8th grade level, including the following overall competencies:
Financial Responsibility and Decision Making
- Standard 1: Take responsibility for personal financial decisions.
- Standard 2: Find and evaluate financial information from a variety of sources.
- Standard 4: Make financial decisions by systematically considering alternatives and consequences.
- Standard 5: Develop communication strategies for discussing financial issues.
- Standard 6: Control personal information
Income and Careers
- Standard 1: Explore career options
- Standard 2: Identify sources of personal income.
- Standard 3: Describe factors affecting take-home pay.
Planning and Money Management
- Standard 1: Develop a plan for spending and saving.
- Standard 3: Describe how to use different payment methods.
- Standard 4: Apply consumer skills to purchase decisions.
- Standard 5: Consider charitable giving.
- Standard 6: Develop a personal financial plan.
Credit and Debt
- Standard 1: Identify the costs and benefits of various types of credit.
- Standard 2: Explain the purpose of a credit record and identify borrowers' credit report rights.
- Standard 3: Describe ways to avoid or correct debt problems.
Risk Management and Insurance
- Standard 1: Identify common types of risks and basic risk management methods.
- Standard 2: Explain the purpose and importance of property and liability insurance protection.
- Standard 3: Explain the purpose and importance of health, disability, and life insurance protection.
Saving and Investing
- Standard 1: Discuss how saving contributes to financial well-being.
- Standard 2: Explain how investing builds wealth and helps meet financial goals.
- Standard 3: Evaluate investment alternatives.
- Standard 4: Describe how to buy and sell investments.
- Standard 6: Investigate how agencies that regulate financial markets protect investors.