Insurance Lessons for Middle & High School Teachers

This lesson plan, shared by Taylor Covington of The Zebra, introduces students to a broad overview of insurance. The concept of this website is to make understanding insurance as ‘black and white‘ as possible, hence the name ‘zebra‘. At the end of the lesson, students will be familiar with basic insurance terms and concepts. This curriculum will provide supplemental information for a unit on Personal Finance. The lesson can be covered in two 50-minute class periods, and hopefully, is as easy for the teacher to follow as it is for the kids to learn!

Instructional Procedures
Day One (50 minutes total)
First, administer the True/False Insurance Pretest and review the questions out loud with the students. Explain that this test is not for a grade but is designed to gauge their prior knowledge of insurance. Time the pretest for about 5 minutes.(10 minutes)

Next, begin the actual teaching process. Show the What You Should Know about Insurance PowerPoint presentation to teach students the basics of insurance.
Encourage the students to take notes since the information will be used in the activities.(15 minutes)

Pass out the Learning the Ropes activity sheet for the students to gauge what they have learned so far. The worksheet is based on the information they just received in the PowerPoint. Grading the responses is left to the discretion of the teacher.(15 minutes)

Pass out the Insurance Timeline worksheet, explain the directions, and have students complete the timeline based on the information they learned in the presentation. Because there is no “correct” answer, these cannot be graded for strict accuracy. Instead, have a class discussion about what should be in what order and why. If time runs out, either ask the students to complete as homework or give them a couple of minutes to complete the worksheet during the next class period.(10 minutes)

Day Two (50 minutes total)
If the Insurance Timeline activity is incomplete, have the students complete the worksheet at the start of class.(7 minutes)

Then, pass out the How Much Does Insurance Cost activity sheet. Explain the directions and have students fill in their answers. Instruct the students to keep this sheet close by as it will again become relevant after the presentation.(10 minutes)

Go through and explain to the students the Lines of Insurance PowerPoint presentation. Take the time to answer questions and go slow.(15 minutes)

Review the appropriate auto and homeowners price comparisons for your state with the students. Have them review the price comparisons and complete the questions on the How Much Does Insurance Cost activity sheet.(15 minutes)

Last, give a writing homework assignment. There are two suggested assignments. The teacher can make the final decision on which, or both, to assign.

Referencing the PowerPoints, have the students design a budget in Excel for their ideal life. Paying for the item itself is one thing, but insurance can add extra thousands each month. Encourage the students to use the websites listed in the What Insurance Will I Need? worksheet to find the best coverage. Let them play with a high deductible but low monthly payments and vice versa. How much money would they have to make to insure everyone in their home and themselves. As a follow up, have them write a short essay on their experience.

Referencing the How Much Does Insurance Cost activity sheet, have the students write a brief (1-2 pages) essay on what they imagine their future will look like. This is the My Goals in Life paper which is referenced from the materials page, so be aware there is no handout for this particular assignment. The paper should focus on one or two simple goals, and the student should say how insurance relates to, or is affected by, that goal. For example, if the student wants to own a motorcycle one day, he or she should emphasize the need for motorcycle insurance and why it is important to have it.

Attachments

All materials can be found at The Zebra website.


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