Teacher kit
Everything to teach money and investing with pretend money: a unit plan by grade band, a slides outline, a rubric, class challenge codes, a family letter and alignment notes.
Educational simulation. Not investment, tax or legal advice. Goal100 is not a broker or investment adviser. Companies, prices and news are made up by code. No student accounts; progress stays on the device.
1 · Run a class challenge (5 steps)
- Open the simulator and press “Teacher: make a class code”.
- Pick the grade band, the goal (for example, Stay diversified) and the length (3, 6, 12 or 24 simulated months). Press “Make a challenge code”.
- Write the code on the board (for example G100-68-DIV-12-OTTER27). Each student types it on the start screen: everyone gets the same made-up market.
- Students write their plan, buy, and move the days forward. Pause on news days to discuss: “What would you do? Why?”
- At the end, each student presses “My goals and share card”, then “Make my code”. Paste the ISIM- codes into “Read student result codes”. Nothing travels over the internet.
For course progress, students use “Send to my teacher” (ITZ- codes) and you read them on the course's Teacher page (starter PIN 2468, this device only).
2 · Unit plan by grade band
| Band | Sessions (about 20-30 min each) | Simulator |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K-2 | 1 Needs and wants · 2 The saving jar · 3 Waiting makes it grow (interest). Games: Need or want?, Saving jar. | Not used. Use the saving jar. |
| 3-5 | 4 Four jobs for money · 5 Interest · 6 Goals and patience · 7 What is a company? · 8 My first pretend investment. | $100, 5 made-up companies, 1 simulated month. Goal: own 3 or more. |
| 6-8 | 9 Budget first · 10 Compound growth tower · 11 Stocks · 12 Bonds · 13 Funds · 14 Risk and reward · 15 Your paper-money portfolio. | $1,000, 6-12 month challenge: Stay diversified or Keep to your plan. 20-year time machine. |
| 9-12 | 16 Index funds · 17 Fees · 18 Inflation · 19 Taxes basics · 20 Retirement accounts · 21 Credit and interest · 22 Orders and spread · 23 Candlesticks · 24 P/E ratio · 25 Biases · 26 Scams · 27 Day trading, leverage, options, short selling (concepts only) · 28 Crypto (concept only). | $10,000, limit orders, order book, candles, fees. 12-24 month challenge: Fee-smart or Be patient. |
Each quest: a real-life hook, one big idea in 12 words or fewer, a motion graphic, a do-it-together example, “I'm stuck” help, practice with kind “Not yet” feedback, and a check with Goal: 100% (95% = Mastered; review after 1 day, 1 week and 1 month).
3 · Slides outline (10 slides)
- Title: Learn money like a pro, with pretend money.
- Opening question: “If you had $1,000 of pretend money, what would you do?”
- Key words: stock, bond, fund, interest, risk (Word cards 3D).
- Compound interest: the growth tower (A = P(1 + r)ᵗ).
- Diversification: the egg basket (Investor.gov).
- Risk and reward: 100 possible futures.
- How a trade works: bid, ask, spread, market and limit orders (9-12).
- Write your plan and start the challenge with the class code.
- News days: what would you do and why? Biases and scam red flags.
- Wrap-up: time machine, goals reached, share card (ask a grown-up before posting).
4 · Rubric (learning goals, not returns)
| Criterion | Not yet | On the way | Mastered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diversification | 1-2 holdings, or one over 60% | 3-4 holdings, none over 50% | 5+ (or the Whole Market fund), none over 40% |
| Keeping the plan | No written plan, or many trades | Written plan; went over in one month | Kept the limit every month after the first |
| Fees and risk | Can't explain fees or volatility | Explains one of the two | Fees under 1% and explains the time machine |
| Decisions on news days | Panic-sells | Hesitates but explains | Holds through a drop and gives an evidence-based reason |
| Vocabulary | Under 95% on checks | 95-99%: Mastered! Go for 100%? | 100%: gold Perfect star |
5 · Alignment notes
- New York: the Board of Regents requires personal finance instruction in grades 5-12 from 2026-27 and in grades K-4 from 2027-28 (NYSED memo, March 24, 2026). Guide and source
- Math (connections, not full coverage): percents and ratios (NY-6.RP, NY-7.RP.3), exponential functions (NY-AI-F.LE), data displays (NY-AI-S.ID). Teacher check: confirm codes against your district guide.
- Social studies: economics concepts (companies, markets, inflation) as connections. Teacher check.
- SEL: impulse control and responsible decision-making (written plan, biases).
- This is an Extra course: it helps you succeed and is not graded. It never gives personalized advice or recommends real securities.
6 · Safety and privacy
- No accounts, no named leaderboards, no streaks on trading, no surprise prizes.
- No real money, no brokerage links, no affiliate links, no crypto in the simulator.
- Borrowed money (leverage) appears only in a separate risk demo; it cannot be used to trade.
- The share card shows only learning goals: no names, no amounts. It is made in the browser.
7 · Official sources (checked November 13, 2026)
- FDIC: Understanding Deposit Insurance
- SEC Investor.gov: Types of Orders · Diversification · Index Fund · Expense Ratio · Bid, ask, spread
- Investor.gov: Red Flags of Investment Fraud Checklist
- Investor.gov: Leveraged Investing Strategies (2021) · Options · Short Sales · Day Trading
- SEC: Exercise Caution with Crypto Asset Securities (2023) · CFTC: Understand the Risks of Virtual Currency Trading
- IRS: Roth IRAs · IRA contribution limits · Topic 409
- Federal Reserve: 2 percent inflation FAQ
8 · Picture tools by lesson
Each lesson opens its tool at the practice step. Use them on the smart board: one person taps, the class predicts first.
- Waiting makes it grow: Coin towers: compound growth
- Four jobs for money: Payday pipeline
- Interest: money that grows: Coin towers: compound growth
- What is a company?: Company pizza: what is a share?
- My first pretend investment: Buyers vs sellers tug-of-war
- Budget first, invest second: Payday pipeline
- Compound interest: the growth tower: Coin towers: compound growth
- What is a stock?: Company pizza: what is a share? · Buyers vs sellers tug-of-war
- What is a bond?: Bond timeline
- What is a fund?: Bad-day baskets
- Risk and reward: Risk spinner
- Your paper-money portfolio: Same-amount buckets (DCA)
- Index funds and diversification: Basket vs one company race · Dancing lines: correlation
- Fees and expense ratios: Fee jars: 30 years
- Inflation: the price creep: Shrinking shopping cart
- Retirement accounts: Coin towers: compound growth
- Orders: market, limit, bid, ask, spread: Buyers vs sellers tug-of-war
- Reading candlestick charts: Drag-a-candle builder · Read a chart, step by step · Chart lab: indicators · Indicator lab + quiz
Indicators describe past prices; they don't predict the future.