As of October 23, 2011, The Secret Millionaires Club is more than just an online show. The episodes have moved to televisions, and teachers can use the shows and lesson plans in their classrooms. On October 21, 2011, Squared Entertainment, By Kids For Kids Co., and CreditReport.com offered teachers and their students resources to engage in financial literacy, including a contest to win $5000 with the Grow Your Own Business Challenge and the Learn and Earn financial literacy promotional activities.
What is the Secret Millionaires Club?
Secret Millionaires Club started as a short cartoon in which billionaire Warren Buffet, in cartoon form, acts as a mentor and financial wizard for kids who are learning good financial habits. Although it has historically been an online show, the Secret Millionaires Club was broadcast on October 23, 2011 on the Hub channel, and it will continue to be broadcast on tv and online. The Hub used to be Discovery Kids, which was rebranded in 2010.
Teachers can use the lessons to help kids learn to avoid traps (credit cards) and explore principles of saving and investing. NEA teachers can use special Secret Millionaires Club lesson plans designed for members of the National Education Association. The lessons are designed for students in third through sixth grade, and the lesson plans can be accelerated for gifted and talented students, especially the Grow Your Own Business Challenge.
Classroom Activities for Secret Millionaires Club
The classroom activities and lessons for are ready to go for classes with projectors and interactive whiteboards; teachers can show the five minute shows and jump right into the standards-based, research-based financial literacy lessons for elementary and middle school students. All of the lessons and activities in the teacher resource sections of Secret Millionaires Club are aligned to national standards for financial literacy, including:
- Appreciation
- Credit and Debt
- Decision Making
- Financial Responsibility
- Income and Careers
- Insurance
- Planning and Money Management
- Risk Management
- Saving and Investing
Additionally, Common Core standards are addressed, particularly in mathematics. According to the Learn and Earn site, the following Common Core lessons are available to use with Secret Millionaires:
Grades 3-5 Standards
- Geometry
- Measurement and Data
- Number and Operations - Fractions
- Number and Operations in Base Ten
- Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Grades 6 Standards
- Equations
- Expressions
- Geometry
- Probability
- Proportional Relationships
- Ratios
- Statistics
- The Number System
All of these can be adapted for gifted and talented students through acceleration, and they can be used as enrichment in the regular classroom for students who can adapt common core standards into real life situations. The Grow Your Own Business Challenge is another enrichment opportunity which, like all of the Secret Millionaires Club resources, are free for teachers to access and use in their classrooms. The Challenge began on October 20, 2011 at 12:00 Noon (ET) and it ends on January 20, 2012 at 12:00 Noon (ET).
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
