Where is money safest? A 5th grade bank and deposit insurance talk
What it is: a 5th grade discussion and card activity about where people keep money. Students compare a jar at home, an insured bank account, an insured credit union account and money left in a payment app, then learn that the FDIC insures bank deposits up to at least $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each ownership category, and that no one has lost a penny of FDIC-insured money since it began in 1933.
Time: about 30 minutes. Grade: 5th grade.
Materials: 4 place cards (jar at home, insured bank account, insured credit union account, money left in a payment app), 6 scenario cards (a pipe floods the house, a wallet is lost, a bank closes, the app company closes, cash is needed on Sunday, you want to earn interest), and sticky notes.
- Ask: "If you had $100, where would you keep it?" Students vote with sticky notes on the 4 place cards.
- Read a scenario card. Groups decide which places would keep the money safe in that event.
- Teach the facts: the FDIC insures deposits at insured banks and the NCUA insures federal credit union accounts, each up to $250,000. Money left in a nonbank payment app often is not covered.
- Read the other scenarios. Groups mark each place with a check or an X.
- Re-vote. Did anyone move their sticky note? Why?
- Close: deposit insurance covers deposit accounts, like savings and checking, not investments like stocks.
Safety: these are pretend scenarios. Students do not share real family account details.
Differentiation: students who need support work with 3 scenarios. Students who are ready read the FDIC's deposit insurance page with an adult and add one fact to the class chart. English learners can use the words deposit, insured and safe.
Quick check: ask a student what the FDIC does and name one place where money is not insured.
Save this activity to your library so it is ready when you need it.
Found this helpful? Get the week's best posts like it.
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.