NGPF x Desmos

NGPF is excited to introduce our collection of Desmos Classroom Activities! As part of our free Financial Algebra course, this collection includes 40+ interactive activities to deepen math learning, foster engagement, and see personal finance in action. With these dynamic activities, your students will learn to confidently navigate complex math applications about investing, taxes, insurance, and more!

Check out the recommended activities below, or go explore NGPF's Desmos Classroom Collection on your own!

Get Started With These Recommended Activities

These two popular activities illustrate how NGPF's Desmos Classroom Activities can bring your math class to life:

• In DESMOS: Growth of Savings vs Investments, students are introduced to exponential growth by comparing how savings and investments grow over time. Through Desmos Classroom, students can sketch predictions and check their work, automate tedious calculations, and share takeaways with classmates. 
• In DESMOS: Introducing Marginal and Effective Income Tax Rates, students complete a piecewise function modeling marginal tax rates. Then, using an interactive graph, they can visualize how tax brackets really work and make a connection to effective tax rate. 
  
  

Growth of Savings vs Investments (FA-5.1)

Introducing Marginal and Effective Income Tax Rates (FA-1.7)

Here are a few more of our favorite activities:

• DESMOS: Real World Linear Inequalities (FA-4.2)

• DESMOS: Growth Factor and Investments (FA-5.2)

• DESMOS: Histograms and Box Plots of Housing Costs (FA-8.4)

• DESMOS: Prize Wheel Puzzle (FA-10.2)

New to Desmos?

We've created a Desmos Tutorial series to walk you through the basics of getting started with the Desmos platform. Part 6 will walk you through setting up a classroom to assign activities and track student progress!

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Want to dig deeper into math? Explore our Financial Algebra Course page!

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About the Authors

Dan Rolando

Always enamored with learning, Dan’s parents affectionately nicknamed him “The Sponge” as a kid. After earning his Engineering Master’s from NC State University followed by six years of teaching, Dan joins NGPF to pursue his passion of inspiring financial capability in anyone who will listen. Having navigated seven years of higher education debt-free through scholarships, work, creative budgeting, and a whole lot of help, he recognizes the freedom that comes from financial independence and hopes to share that gift with others. In the (rare) times he’s not discussing finance, Dan enjoys running, reading, playing board games, spending time with his daughter, and being sous chef for his wife.

Kathryn Dawson

Kathryn (she/her) is excited to join the NGPF team after 9 years of experience in education as a mentor, tutor, and special education teacher. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and has a master's degree in education from Brooklyn College. Kathryn is looking forward to bringing her passion for accessibility and educational justice into curriculum design at NGPF. During her free time, Kathryn loves embarking on cooking projects, walking around her Seattle neighborhood with her partner and dog, or lounging in a hammock with a book.