Checking Accounts

45-minute agenda

1. 0–5 min

   Warm-up

   Post: “Your checking account shows $120. A $60 phone bill is scheduled to come out tomorrow. How much can you safely spend today? Explain.”

2. 5–12 min

   Direct instruction

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

   • Checking is for everyday spending, not for growing money.
   • Debit spends your money; credit borrows money.
   • Watch for monthly, overdraft, and ATM fees — many accounts have none.
   • Subtract upcoming bills before deciding what you can spend.
   • Insured deposits are protected up to $250,000 per depositor, per institution, per ownership category.

   Use the “See it” slide (How money moves through checking) to make the idea visual.

3. 12–17 min

   Worked example

   Walk through “Jordan and the overdraft” on the slides. Pause before the result and ask students to predict it.

4. 17–22 min

   Live demo

   Project track a month in checking from the slides. Change one input at a time and have students call out what they think will happen.

5. 22–32 min

   Register Race

   Format: pairs · 10 minutes

   1. Give pairs a starting balance of $180 and this list, in order: (1) groceries −$42 debit, (2) phone bill −$65 autopay, (3) ATM withdrawal −$20 plus a $3 out-of-network fee, (4) concert ticket −$89 debit, (5) paycheck +$210 direct deposit, (6) gas −$35 debit.
   2. Pairs record each line in a register with a running balance.
   3. Pairs circle the first transaction that would overdraw the account and write one habit that would have prevented it.
   4. Compare answers with another pair.

   What to look for: Running balance: $138, $73, $50, −$39, $171, $136. The concert ticket (#4) overdraws the account by $39 because it posts before the paycheck. Checking upcoming bills and payday first prevents it.

6. 32–37 min

   Check for understanding

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

   1. What's the smartest way to think about this? — D. About $15 is really available once the bill comes out.
   2. A debit card spends money you already have, while a credit card spends money you're borrowing. — True
   3. Which account costs you less, and by how much per year? — A. Account A, by $144 a year
7. 37–42 min

   Discussion

   • Why might a bank offer a free checking account? How does the bank still make money?
   • What alerts or habits would help someone avoid overdrafts?
8. 42–45 min

   Exit ticket

   Prompt: Name one fee a checking account can charge and one way to avoid it.

   Answer: Overdraft fee — track your balance or turn off overdraft coverage. Monthly fee — choose a no-fee account or meet the minimum. ATM fee — use your bank's network.