One of the hidden gems of the NGPF Financial Algebra Course is the 5-Point Practice embedded into so many of our math lesson plans. This simple format allows your students to demonstrate content mastery in multiple ways and provides student choice. Here's how to find and use the 5-Point Practice...

What is a 5-point practice?

The concept is simple -- NGPF has written you a grid of nine problems on a given math skill. Three problems are "easy" and worth 1 point each, three are of medium difficulty and worth 2 points each, and three are the most difficult, valued at 3 points each. Students are charged with self-selecting whichever problems they want to complete, so long as they complete at least 5 points worth of math. Here's a sample from Lesson 10.6 on Conditional Probability. 

What's so magical about 5-point practice?

• Students can self-select the best problems for them and take pride of ownership in their work
• Without even grading every answer, you can assess how confident students are based on which problem types they choose
• Students must do at least one 2- or 3-point problem to hit 5 total points, so no one can "skate by" just doing the bare minimum
• Keeps your fastest math learners challenged by jumping straight to the hard stuff

How can I customize further? 

You can impose your own rules, too. Maybe you make it a 6-point practice or 7-point practice instead. Maybe you assign a different point target to different students to best meet their needs. Use the "extras" as bonus points, because kids are always hungry for bonus points. Because NGPF resources are built on Google docs, you can always make your own copy (in Google, Microsoft, or whatever else you use) to edit to your liking. 

Where do I find 5-point practice? 

The Financial Algebra course has two types of lessons -- Math focused and Personal Finance focused. You can usually tell by the titles of the lessons. For example, in Unit 10 Insurance & Probability the math lessons are titled Counting Principles, Intro to Probability, Compound Probability, and Conditional Probability. In the case of Insurance, you'll find 5-Point Practice in Lesson 1 (the Fundamental Counting Principle and Factorial), Lesson 4 (probability using set notation), and Lesson 6 (linked above). Answer keys to all 5-Point Practice are located by clicking "View Lesson Guide" for the corresponding lesson. 

5-Point Practice isn't limited to just the Insurance unit. You'll find them throughout the course in math lessons of every unit. You'll also find Application problems, a much meatier set of practice problems also provided at three skill levels, for each math lesson. So much math to be done, and through the context of personal finance learning, which makes it more engaging and meaningful for students! 

About the Author

Jessica Endlich

When I started working at Next Gen Personal Finance, it's as though my undergraduate degree in finance, followed by ten years as an educator in an NYC public high school, suddenly all made sense.