This 5-week flex course will cover how taxes work in the United States, what tax forms are needed to file, and how to file taxes. This course will be filled with hands-on learning!  My course is a great way to prepare students for handling their own finances! 

Many learners start with little knowledge about handling finances.  After the course, they will grow to enjoy learning about money and will be much more confident in their finances!

This course will include presentations, videos, reading, writing, activities, and projects.  I'm a firm believer in creating engaging learning experiences.  I'm excited to begin a journey of discovering finances with your learner!

Students will collaborate through the Outschool platform through various projects including: A Turbotax simulation, Tax Forms & Their Purposes, and Analyzing if People in various scenarios should file a tax return.

A Nearpod will be provided for each week of the course. There will be multiple interactive activities throughout the lesson so students can synthesize what they are learning and keep track of it. I will ask students to share their work with me and/or the class and give them feedback on this work. I will pose a weekly discussion question for students to answer in the classroom or Nearpod via video, picture, or chat and I will ask that classmates respond to each other's submissions. There will also be a review quiz after each lesson on Nearpod as a check for understanding.


Agenda:
Week 1: The U.S. Tax System
*Why Do We Pay Taxes
*How Taxes Affect Your Paycheck
*What Your Tax Dollars Pay For
*How Tax Brackets Work
Week 2: Important Tax Forms
*Tax Forms and Their Purpose
*W-4
*W-2
*The Tax Cycle
Week 3: Do I Need to File a Tax Return?
*Reasons to File Taxes Even if You Don’t Have To
*Earned Income vs. Unearned Income
*When Do You Need to File a Tax Return?
Week 4: Filing Your Taxes
*Tax Prep Checklist for Teens
*Tax Deductions vs. Credits
*How to Complete a 1040
*Ways to Maximize Your Tax Refund
Week 5: Dive Deeper Into Taxes
*Standard vs. Itemized Deductions
*Popular Tax Breaks
*Tax Tips With Multiple Jobs
*Taxes for Independent Contractors

Keywords: financial literacy for students, financial literacy for beginners, financial literacy course, financial literacy for kids, importance of financial literacy for youth, why is financial literacy important, financial literacy program, taxes due, taxes usa, taxes calculator, filing taxes, taxes online, turbo tax, personal finance program, personal finance for students, personal finance for beginners, personal finance course, personal finance for kids, importance of personal finance for youth, why is personal finance important, personal finance program, personal finance basics, personal finance topics