We hear the advice all the time - read the fine print! To help your students develop this critical thinking skill, NGPF offers dozens of FINE PRINT activities to give students practice in understanding important forms, statements, and agreements they will encounter. Check out five of our picks and learn more about how to use them in the classroom. 

FINE PRINT activities use authentic forms, statements, and agreements from the real world. For this reason, teachers have told us their students say these are some of the most helpful activities as they are similar to documents they see at home and at work. 

What are the benefits of bringing “The Fine Print” to your classroom?

• Empowers students with information about the terms and conditions of financial products BEFORE they make decisions
• Provides a way for students to apply their knowledge to real-life financial documents
• Teaches the importance of understanding the terms and conditions (and gotchas) of financial products
• Acts as a bridge between theory and practice
• Provide educators with maximum flexibility on how to use in the classroom; can be used on stand-alone basis, as extension or assigned as group work, to name just a few

Here are 5 NGPF FINE PRINT activity picks:

FINE PRINT: Financial Aid Package

Students will compare two offer letters from different universities. They’ll determine how much of the aid package is loans that have to be paid back or earned through work versus grants and scholarships. They’ll also look at the net price compared to the cost of attendance.

View FINE PRINT: Financial Aid Package

FINE PRINT: Pay Stub

Have students explore a pay stub in more detail to understand its various components. This activity helps them understand gross vs net wages, deductions, retirement contributions, and more. 

View FINE PRINT: Pay Stub

FINE PRINT: Credit Report

Get students familiar with the various elements of a credit report, such as finding the credit limit, whether the account is past due, and payment history.

View FINE PRINT: Credit Report

FINE PRINT: Credit Card Statement

By exploring a credit card statement, students will be able to identify penalty APRs as well as how to calculate interest charge from APR rates, credit utilization rate, and more. 

View FINE PRINT: Credit Card Statement

FINE PRINT: Stock Index Fund Fact Sheet  

To help students understand what they’re investing in when they buy index funds, this activity gives insights into fees charged, how to compare the performance of their index fund performance to the S&P 500, and which industries make up the fund’s holdings, among other insights. 

View FINE PRINT: Stock Index Fund Fact Sheet

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Explore more FINE PRINT activities to supplement your lessons.

About the Author

Hannah Rael

As NGPF's Marketing Communications Manager, Hannah (she/her) helps spread the word about NGPF's mission to improve the financial lives of the next generation of Americans.