Most 18-year-olds sign their first lease without reading it — and lose their

security deposit because nobody taught them what to look for. This lesson changes

that.

"Your First Apartment" is a complete, ready-to-teach financial literacy unit for

Grades 10–12, Life Skills, CTE, and Adult Education. Students follow Sofia, who

just got her first real job and needs to find an apartment. By the end of class,

they know exactly what to look for in a lease, how to protect their deposit, what

a place actually costs each month, and what their rights are as a tenant.

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WHAT'S INCLUDED

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16-slide color presentation (16:9 widescreen, PDF)

→ Warm professional design — forest green, sand, sage. Easy to look at on a

projector.

5-page student worksheet (black & white, PDF)

→ Vocabulary reference card, apartment comparison table, full budget calculation,4 real-life scenarios, and reflection questions. Generous answer space throughout.

Apartment Affordability Calculator App (interactive, browser-based)

→ Students enter their monthly take-home pay and a rent amount. The app instantly

shows whether it fits the 30% rule, a visual budget bar, full expense breakdown,

and Sofia's 4 apartments to compare by clicking.

→ No internet needed after loading. Works in Chrome, Safari, Firefox.

Teacher's Guide (PDF, 9+ pages)

→ Slide-by-slide script, full answer key with every number verified, 5 common

student errors with fixes, differentiation tips for struggling and advanced

learners, pacing for 45/60/90-min classes, and app instructions.

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WHAT STUDENTS LEARN

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✔ How to read the 8 critical sections of a lease before signing

✔ What a security deposit is — and 5 ways to make sure you get it back

✔ The true monthly cost of an apartment (rent is just the beginning)

✔ How to apply the 30% rule to any salary

✔ What it actually costs to break a lease early

✔ 5 tenant rights that landlords cannot legally violate

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HOW THE LESSON WORKS

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Students meet Sofia — 22 years old, just started her first job, $2,800/month take-

home. She has 4 apartment options ranging from $650 to $1,350/month. Students pick

one at the start of class (most pick the nicest one). Then they do the math — and

discover that the apartment they chose may cost more than they can comfortably

afford.

The lesson covers leases, deposits, budgeting, the 30% rule, breaking a lease, and

tenant rights — in that order, building on each concept before the next one.

The second half is scenario-based: Marcus fights for his deposit, Priya checks the

math on her budget, Devon needs to break a lease, and every student researches a

real apartment in their own city.

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TIMING

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→ 45–50 min: Slides 1–12, Pages 1–3 (core lesson)

→ 60 min: Slides 1–14, Pages 1–4→ 90 min / block: Complete unit

→ 2 × 45 min: Ideal pacing (Day 1 = lease + deposit + budget, Day 2 = 30% rule +

scenarios)

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BEST FOR

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→ Personal Finance classes

→ Life Skills and Adulting courses

→ Consumer Math / Financial Algebra

→ Career and Technical Education (CTE)

→ Special Education transition programs

→ Adult Education / GED prep

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TERMS OF USE

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For single classroom use only. Please purchase additional licenses for each

teacher using this resource. Do not share digitally or post publicly online.