Wondering what to leave the substitute when you are away from the classroom? Read on for ideas that will keep your students engaged.

Having a ready-made sub plan is a lifesaver when you have to take an unexpected day (or two!) away from the classroom. We’ve created a list of lessons, resources, interactives, and activities that are easy to implement and could potentially be used at any point in your course.

1. NGPF Personal Finance Movie suggestions (with worksheets!)

NGPF created discussion questions for 30+ personal finance movies. Students will answer questions while they watch the movie and then reflect afterward with questions that tie in personal finance concepts. 

2. NGPF Arcade

The NGPF Arcade offers free online games that connect with a variety of personal finance topics. Use one for a fun sub plan by incorporating the Reflection Worksheet for your chosen game.

3. NGPF Mini-Unit Lessons

NGPF has eight mini-units on various topics such as Entrepreneurship, Buying a Car, Cryptocurrency, and more. Select a lesson from one of them as an easy-to-implement sub plan. 

• One suggestion: COMPARE: Charities and have students watch this Two Cents video first.

4. Podcasts in the Classroom

Financially Inclined from Marketplace is a money podcast designed specifically with teachers and teens in mind (and hosted by Yanely Espinal)! Episodes cover topics from budgeting, buying a car, buy now, pay later, and investing basics.  Each one is about 15 minutes long and has an accompanying student worksheet (the listening guide), which makes it a great sub plan. 

The Million Bazillion podcast is great for middle school students. Be sure to check out the “Money Talks” questions and additional resources available!

5. So Expensive video web series

Business Insider's So Expensive video series is an accessible way to bring econ's factors of production and other core concepts into a personal finance class. Each one includes a video about a specific product or service that is... so expensive as well as a Nearpod and no-tech version with discussion questions.

6. Use an Activity NOT in the NGPF Semester Course 

On NGPF’s unit pages, activities  included in an NGPF Semester Course lesson are indicated on the right-hand side of the page by a light blue dot with the letters SC. As a sub plan, you can assign an activity that is NOT already included to give your students an additional activity in the unit you are working on. 

Here are two activity suggestions that require little prior knowledge and could be perfect for a sub plan: 

INTERACTIVE: What is the Most Common Job in Each State? 

ANALYZE: The Influence of Social Media

7. NGPF Data Crunch Activities

Data Crunch Activities are available in each unit and require students to analyze a chart or graph about a specific topic and answer five scaffolded questions. Since these activities are easily printable and customizable, they would make an excellent sub plan.

Once students finish, you could encourage them to create their own Data Crunch by finding a data source and creating five questions or five observations of the data.

8. Have students conduct research

Incorporate a RESEARCH or webquest activity on a relevant topic. Students can conduct independent research in preparation for a discussion when you return.

Here are a few suggestions:

RESEARCH: Find Your Next Car

RESEARCH: How Ethical are the Products You Use?

RESEARCH: Types of Altruism

Build Your Sub Plan Folder Before You Need It

With the My Resources feature, you can save any NGPF activity to your own Save for Sub Plans folder with a single click. Next time you're browsing the curriculum and think, "this would work even if I'm not in the room," save it.

Here are the steps to follow to save. When an unexpected absence hits, your sub plans are already waiting.

Not sure where to start? Here are the five activities NGPF teachers save for sub plans most often:

1. INTERACTIVE: Online Bank Simulator
2. INTERACTIVE: Living Paycheck to Paycheck
3. COMPARE: Needs vs Wants
4. PLAY: The Bean Game
5. CASE STUDY: How do I budget? 

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.

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