Making Smart Choices

Year Level

Year 9

Duration

60 minutes

Class Size

Approximately 25 students

Curriculum Alignment

This lesson aligns with the New South Wales PDHPE syllabus, focusing on financial decision-making, which is integrated within the broader context of personal health, wellbeing, and safety education. It addresses the Personal Development, Health and Physical Education K-10 Syllabus elements, particularly relating to decision-making, managing risk, and financial literacy components as connected to young people's everyday lives and future planning.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Understand and explain the importance of making informed financial decisions and how these impact personal wellbeing and future opportunities.
2. Develop practical skills in budgeting, saving, and recognising financial risks associated with spending choices.
3. Analyse case studies to evaluate financial scenarios and outcomes, practising critical thinking and problem solving related to financial decisions.
4. Collaborate in group discussions to explore diverse perspectives on managing money effectively and reflect on their own financial behaviours.

NSW PDHPE Syllabus Links:

• Stage 5 (Years 9-10): Focus on decision-making about health, safety, and wellbeing, including managing personal resources responsibly.
• Personal Development strand – Decision Making and Managing Risk: examines economic and social influences on wellbeing and encourages students to develop skills to make informed decisions.
• Content descriptors related to managing financial risk and consumer choice, embedded within health literacy.

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Lesson Outline

1. Introduction (10 minutes)

• Activity: Quick class poll/discussion: "What influences your spending decisions?"
• Teacher introduces the lesson topic of financial decision making, emphasising its relevance to personal wellbeing and future planning.
• Define key terms: informed financial decisions, budgeting, saving, financial risk.

2. Key Content Input (15 minutes)

• Teacher Presentation:
• What is making an informed financial decision?
• How to create a budget: income vs expenses, prioritising needs and wants.
• Simple saving strategies and their benefits.
• Understanding financial risks: impulse buying, credit/debt, scams.
• Use clear, relatable examples suitable for Year 9 students to illustrate each point.

3. Case Study Analysis (15 minutes)

• Activity Instructions:
• Students are divided into small groups (4-5 per group). Each group receives a different case study scenario describing typical financial decision-making situations (e.g., deciding on phone plan upgrades, handling unexpected expenses, planning for a school event).
• Groups analyse their scenario to identify the financial choices, possible risks, and come up with a budget or saving plan.
• Outcome: Groups prepare a brief summary of their case and decisions.

4. Group Discussion and Debrief (15 minutes)

• Each group shares their scenario and decision-making process with the class.
• Teacher facilitates discussion asking:
• What were the biggest challenges?
• How did your budgeting help or limit your choices?
• What financial risks did you consider and how?
• Discuss real-life application: how these skills apply to students' own financial experiences and decisions.
• Encourage reflection: What would they do differently next time?

5. Conclusion and Assessment (5 minutes)

• Teacher summarises key points.
• Formative Assessment:
• Students complete a short exit slip answering:
• One thing they learned about budgeting/saving.
• One financial risk they didn't know about before.
• One question they still have.
• Collect exit slips to gauge understanding and inform future lessons.

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Assessment Ideas

• Formative: Exit slips as above to assess understanding of budgeting, saving, and financial risks.
• Summative option: Create a personal budget plan for a hypothetical monthly income including saving and spending priorities, justifying their choices.
• Participation in group case study analysis and discussion to assess collaboration and application of financial decision-making concepts.

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Resources

• Printed copies of case studies tailored to Year 9 financial scenarios.
• Whiteboard or digital presentation for key concepts.
• Simple templates for budgeting activity (income vs expenses table).
• Exit slip sheets or digital forms for quick assessment.
• Optional: calculator or budgeting apps demonstration for practical budgeting illustrations.

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Additional Notes for Teachers

• Consider using examples relevant to students' everyday lives (e.g., managing pocket money, saving for a gaming console, costs of social activities).
• Promote respectful discussion during group share to encourage confidence and diverse perspectives.
• Extend learning by encouraging students to track their own spending for a week and reflect later on their financial decisions.
• Highlight how financial decision making contributes to overall health and wellbeing by reducing stress and increasing opportunities.

This lesson integrates critical financial literacy with personal development, empowering students with skills essential for responsible adulthood while fostering collaboration and reflective thinking according to the NSW PDHPE curriculum standards.