Token bank: a 5th grade game about loans and interest
What it is: a 5th grade role play where a class bank takes deposits from savers and lends tokens to borrowers. Students see that interest is the fee for borrowing money, that borrowed money must be paid back, and that the bank can pay savers a little because it charges borrowers more.
Time: about 40 minutes. Grade: 5th grade.
Materials: about 200 counters or paper tokens, a bank ledger on chart paper, cards that say Saver or Borrower, and a short project for borrowers (for example, they need 10 tokens to "buy" materials for a paper bridge).
- Choose 2 bankers. Give each saver 10 tokens to deposit. The bankers write each deposit in the ledger.
- Each borrower asks for a loan of 10 tokens. The rule: pay back 12 tokens at the end of round 3. The extra 2 tokens are the interest.
- Play 3 short rounds. Borrowers use their tokens for the project; savers wait.
- At the end of round 3, borrowers repay 12 tokens and each saver withdraws 11 tokens (10 plus 1 token of interest). The bankers count what is left.
- Discuss: where did the savers' extra token come from? Why does the bank charge borrowers more than it pays savers?
- Twist: one borrower cannot repay. What happens to the bank? Connect it to why lenders check whether someone can pay a loan back.
Differentiation: give the bankers a calculator if they need support. Students who are ready write the interest as a percent (2 out of 10 is 20 percent, much more than most real loans for so short a time). English learners can use the words borrow, lend, deposit and interest.
Quick check: ask a student why a borrower pays back more than they borrowed.
Save this activity to your library so it is ready when you need it.
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About this resource
- Shared by
- @UpOnlyLearning · Curriculum team
- Posted
- Oct 30, 2026
- Type
- Lesson plan
- Grade
- Grades 3–5
- Subject
- Social studies, Life skills & money
- Language
- English
- License
- Free for classroom, co-op and tutoring use. Please don't resell.