What Credit Is

45-minute agenda

1. 0–5 min

   Warm-up

   Post: “A friend asks to borrow $50 and promises to pay you back next month. What would make you say yes? What would make you say no?”

   Teacher note: Students will name trust, past behavior, and ability to repay — exactly what lenders look at. Connect this to credit history.

2. 5–17 min

   Direct instruction

   Present the lesson slides. Make sure students leave with these points:

   • Credit = borrow now, repay later, usually with interest.
   • Your credit history lives in reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
   • Check your reports free at AnnualCreditReport.com — it doesn't hurt your score.
   • No history isn't bad history. It's a blank page to build carefully.

   Use the “See it” slide (How credit history builds) to make the idea visual.

3. 17–22 min

   Worked example

   Walk through “Two apartment applications” on the slides. Pause before the result and ask students to predict it.

4. 22–32 min

   The Landlord's Decision

   Format: small groups · 10 minutes

   1. Groups play a landlord reviewing three fictional applicants. Applicant 1: two years of on-time payments and low card balances. Applicant 2: no credit history at all. Applicant 3: several late payments and one account in collections.
   2. Groups rank the applicants and choose a decision for each: approve, approve with a larger deposit or co-signer, or deny.
   3. Each group explains its decision for Applicant 2.
   4. Debrief: no history is not bad history — it's a blank page.

   What to look for: Most groups approve Applicant 1, ask Applicant 2 for a larger deposit or co-signer, and hesitate on Applicant 3. The key point: Applicant 2 isn't risky, just unknown.

5. 32–37 min

   Check for understanding

   Use the question slides — or run them as a Four Corners game. Answers:

   1. What actually happened? — B. The card company paid for the bike, and you repaid it — borrowing that adds to your credit history.
   2. Checking your own credit report lowers your credit score. — False
   3. What will the credit report most likely show? — D. Their loans and cards, and whether they've paid on time
6. 37–42 min

   Discussion

   • Why would a landlord care how someone has handled credit cards?
   • Is it fair that people with no credit history can pay more for some things? What could change that?
7. 42–45 min

   Exit ticket

   Prompt: Fill in the blanks: Credit means you ___ now and ___ later, usually with ___.

   Answer: borrow; repay; interest.