PracticalMoneySkills.com is a free Web site designed to help educators, parents and students practice better money management for life. Americans think that financial basics are as important as the three R's traditionally taught in school. In fact, according to a Visa survey, 77 percent of parents believe personal money management is a subject "very important" to their children's lives as adults -- second only to writing at 89 percent. And since many consumers today graduated without even basic knowledge of money management, like how to create and stick to a budget, many learn money skills through the school of trial and error.

To help today's youths and consumers of all ages become financially savvy, Visa has partnered with leading consumer advocates, educators and financial institutions to launch a national program to improve the nation's financial skills -- Practical Money Skills for Life.

In addition to providing online tools and resources via www.practicalmoneyskills.com, Visa has created free classroom material that educators can use to teach personal finance. Available online or in a binder format, the classroom curriculum is free. It offers a teacher's guide, student worksheets and quizzes and interactive brain-teasers that can be played by students via the Web or from a CD-ROM. Additionally, Visa donates computer labs, ensuring that schools in need have access to the equipment needed to take advantage of Practical Money Skills for Life. Learn more about Visa's outreach program.

Practical Money Skills for Life is educator-developed and educator-approved. In fact, at the recent National Education Association's Expo 2001, more than 94 percent of the educators surveyed graded the program an "A" or "B" and 98 percent said they would recommend to a fellow educator. (Read educator comments on Visa's program.)

Today Visa's program reaches millions of students across the country -- and growing every day. Access a list of schools that use practicalmoneyskills.com to help promote financial understanding in their classrooms.

using the Teacher's Guide | enter Teacher's Guide

The Teacher's Guide of Practical Money Skills for Life includes five major components for each lesson:

• Lesson Outline-- A lesson overview, including goals, lesson objectives, overheads, and activities for each section.
• Teaching Notes-- Tips on using the section materials in a classroom situation.
• Related Links-- Additional Internet resources related to the lesson.
• View Student Section-- A link to the corresponding student pages for each section.

Note: Please review additional software requirements.

To make the Teacher's Guide quick and easy to use, we've developed icons that will serve as visual cues to let you know which activities appear in each lesson.

instructional tracks
The instructional activities in each level 3 lesson are "tracked" to the needs of specific audiences. These items are indicated in a matrix based on the following suggested age groups:

The student's section of Practical Money Skills for Life includes four major components for each lesson:

• Student Materials-- Guides that address key concepts for the lesson.
• Activities-- Worksheets and activities related to the lesson objectives.
• Lesson Quiz-- Online quiz that students may take for instant results.
• Related Links-- Additional Internet resources related to the lesson.

The Parent Resource Center guides parents of children in three age groups: PreK to grade 2, grades 3 to 6, and grades 7 to 12. Each age group's information includes:

• Level Overview-- A brief general overview of the section.
• Ten To Do's- Summary of points to consider at each age level.
• Topics-- Guides that address key concepts.
• Activities-- Worksheets and suggested activities that will help you teach your children financial concepts.
• Interactive Game-- Online entertainment related to ideas introduced in each age level.