Here is my current ranked list of my favorite credit interactives that could be used in NGPF's Managing Credit or Types of Credit Units. 

1) Shady Sam: Loan Shark

In this popular game, students sit across the desk from unsuspecting borrowers and try to extract as much profit from them - via interest and loan terms - as possible. Try our existing companion handout to this engaging and easy to play credit game Shady Sam.

2) INTERACTIVE: FICO Credit Scores

Try our existing virtual adaptation companion handout to the wildly popular FICO Credit Score Simulator. 

3) Play the Credit-Score Game

We used pieces of the Wall Street Journal interactive to develop Move Up and Down with Credit Scores.

4) 3 Credit Reports Wordwalls

I built these Wordwalls (a free classroom technology tool) as a classroom teacher to better engage students in learning what is included in each credit report. Okay, I sort of cheated here and included three interactives and listed them as one. Think of it as a bonus :)

• Transunion Credit Report Wordwall
• Experian Credit Report Wordwall
• Equifax Credit Report Wordwall

5) FICO Loan Savings Calculator

This is an excellent, simple resource to illustrate (side-by-side with credit scores) how much more expensive loans can cost with lower credit scores. The NGPF Curriculum Team uses this in the lesson CALCULATE: Impact of Credit Score on (Auto) Loans.

6) Credit Card Payoff Calculator

This simple to use calculator makes it a breeze for students to explore the true cost of credit card debt. If you don’t have time to pull together your own activity using the calculator, try NGPF's CALCULATE: Shopping with Interest. 

7) INTERACTIVE: Credit Across US Communities

Try our existing companion handout to the NY Federal Reserve community credit health data visualization tool.  

8) States with the Highest & Lowest Credit Scores (2020)

This is an engaging tool to use as a bell ringer to pique student interest and springboard into a conversation about why credit scores vary so much from state to state.

9) Cat Insanity

This is our companion handout to the brief 5 minute game Cat Insanity It's ideal to introduce the effect of compounding (and extremely frustrating) on high-interest debt.

BONUS: Tricks To Improve Your Credit Score

This is one the best credit scoring articles I’ve read. It’s digestible to teens, full of tried and true tricks, and doesn’t read like a text book. 

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Looking for more credit activities and lessons. Check out the NGPF Types of Credit Unit Page. 

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About the Author

Brian Page

Making a difference in the lives of students through financial capability is Brian’s greatest passion. He comes to NGPF after fifteen years of public school teaching where he was the ‘11 Ohio Department of Education recipient of a Milken National Educator Award, the CEE Forbes Award winner, and a Money Magazine/CNN "Money Hero". He served on the working group for President Obama's Advisory Council on Financial Capability. He has private school experience as a Trustee for the Cincinnati Country Day School and was a past Ohio Jump$tart President. Brian holds a BBA and M.Ed. When Brian isn’t working alongside his NGPF teammates he is likely spending time with his wife, three children, and dog; hiking, or watching Ohio State football.

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