Balancing a Checking Account Assignment

Key Concepts
Maintaining financial records
Summary
This lesson uses checking accounts as an application to strengthen students’
quantitative reasoning skills.
It seeks to promote responsible record-keeping and cash flow management.
Overview & Lesson Objectives
This lesson is intended for middle school students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
The lesson
teaches students how to reconcile a checking account register to a checking account
statement. Online
banking and 24/7 Bank-By-Phone will also be introduced in this lesson.
Students will be able to:
 Complete a check register with a series of transactions
 Read a checking account statement
 Reconcile a checking account register to a checking account statement
 Describe alternative methods to access checking account information
o Online Banking
o 24/7 Bank-By-Phone
o Customer Service Representatives at the branches
Time Allocation:
15 - 20 Minute Prep
35 - 40 Minutes Engagement
Materials:
 Copies of Checking account transaction list (one per student)
 Copies of Blank check register (one per student)
 Copies of Checking Account Statement (one per student)

Financial Literacy 10Sourced from: TD Financial Education Ms. Schrempel

Lesson Begins: Setting the Stage
Background Builder #1: Ask students to recall the information covered in the last
lesson. They should be able to tell you about writing checks and recording transactions
in a checking account register. Ask students to tell you more about the checking account
register. Elicit from students the need to record accurate information, the need to record
all transactions, accurate arithmetic and neatness.

State the Objective: tell the students what they will be able to do upon conclusion
of the lesson. “Today we are going to learn about reconciling a checking account
register and a checking account statement. You will also learn that there are ways to
access your checking account information if you ever forget to record a transaction or
have another problem.”

Lesson Continues
People can use a checking account to pay for utilities, housing, food, clothing, and
services. Nearly everyone uses a checking account because it is a safer way to pay for
things than using cash. If you carry a lot of cash on your person or send cash through
the mail, it can easily be stolen. When you write a check from your checking account
you give permission to a specific company or person to receive a certain amount of
money. ATM and debit cards connected to your checking account can also make
monetary transactions easier. Things can become disorganized if you do not keep track
of your money and your checks. When you open a checking account, you receive a
check register. This is the place to record every check you write, every ATM
withdrawal you make, and every deposit that you make. You will always know if you
have enough money to pay for the checks you have written, so that you don’t overdraw
your account and get into serious financial trouble.
When you write a check, you must subtract the amount you spent from your balance. A
deposit means you can add the amount to your balance. Careful arithmetic is very
important! Proceed to discuss the aspects of an entry in a check register <refer to check
register>: the check number, the date it was written, the description of the check/debit or
deposit, the amount of the check/debit or the deposit, and the balance forward.
Distribute a copy of “Tracy Transaction’s Checking Account Transactions” to each
student. Also distribute a blank check register to each student.
Instruct students to enter Tracy’s transactions accurately on their checking account
registers. As students complete this activity it is vital to circulate among the students
pointing out any areas that may create problems or answering any questions that may
arise.

Financial Literacy 10Sourced from: TD Financial Education Ms. Schrempel

Next distribute a checking account statement to each student. Explain to the students
that they have the option of receiving a paper statement in the mail or viewing their
statement online. A checking account statement will list all the transactions processed
through their checking account during the previous month. Their statement will also
include images or copies of cleared checks with their monthly statement.
Instruct students to verify each transaction listed on their statements with those in their
checking account registers. The ending balance should be $361.80. Tell students this is
called balancing a checkbook.
This was an easy example to share with students because everything was
straightforward and easy to understand. But what if there was missing information in the
checking account register? What could you do? Many banks make it easy for you to
access your account information.
 Customers can go to their branches and have a Customer Service Representative
help reconcile their account or solve problems.
 Customers can access account information online.
 Customers can access account information through 24/7 Bank-By-Phone.

Students should be made aware that the last two options allow them to transfer funds,
pay bills online, open an account, apply for a loan, make check deposits and more.

Lesson Closes
Review with students the importance of balancing their checkbook. Review alternative
options to access account information. See the suggestions page for “Additional
Engagement Opportunities/Resources”, for additional ideas.

Financial Literacy 10Sourced from: TD Financial Education Ms. Schrempel

 Student Assignment Financial Literacy 10
Balancing Your Checking Account

Statement of Account

Customer Number: 23785-54-9674458

Louis Riel Hero & Leader Co. Branch Name: <Branch Name>

Financial Literacy 10Sourced from: TD Financial Education Ms. Schrempel

 2450 Courage St, Statement Date: mm/dd/yyyy
Buffalo Narrows, SK
S0M 0J0 Payment Due Date: mm/dd/yyyy
Credit Limit: 390,000.00
Total Amount Due: 3,898.57
SUMMARY
Payment / Purchases Finance Late
Previous Installment
Card Type Credits and and Charges and Payment Amount Due
Balance Due
Rebates Advances Other Fees Charges
Visa Gold 7,126.14 7,126.14 3,898.57 0.00 0.00 0.00 3,898.57
Past Due Amount 0.00
Unbilled Installment Amount 0.00
Unbilled Loan Amount 0.00
Total Outstanding Balance 3,898.57
TRANSACTION
Date Description Amount
Payment Type Deposit Balance
Balance Brought Forward 8313.30
mm/dd/yyyy Petron - C5 Station 223.26
mm/dd/yyyy South Star Drug 313.39
mm/dd/yyyy Rosewood Condominium 582.96
mm/dd/yyyy SGI House Insurance 125.00
mm/dd/yyyy Sask Energy 215.00
mm/dd/yyyy Alba International 656.86
mm/dd/yyyy Northern Store Grocery 246.00
mm/dd/yyyy Chrysler Canada 571.10
mm/dd/yyyy Hotel Sheraton (Las Vegas) 965.00
mm/dd/yyyy Online Bill Payment Visa Gold 400.00
mm/dd/yyyy Sask Power 200.00
mm/dd/yyyy eBay Trading Co. 512.22
mm/dd/yyyy Squeaky Clean -Fuel Purchase 80.00
mm/dd/yyyy Business Loan Deposit 20, 000.00
mm/dd/yyyy Jumes White Media 2416.85
mm/dd/yyyy ATM Weyburn Credit Union 100.00
mm/dd/yyyy Other ATM Transaction fee 3.00
mm/dd/yyyy SGI Insurance 150.00
mm/dd/yyyy SaskTel 177.00
mm/dd/yyyy Abelio Scotrail Ltd 122.22
mm/dd/yyyy BHP Mining 3554.00

Financial Literacy 10Sourced from: TD Financial Education Ms. Schrempel

Financial Literacy 10Sourced from: TD Financial Education Ms. Schrempel
 Statement Date 11/15/18
Tracy Transaction
555 Deposit Lane
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034

*** Checking***
Account Number 1112223339
Previous Statement Balance as Of 10/14/18……………………. 300.00
Plus 3 Deposits and Other Credits………………………. 211.50
Less 6 Checks and Other Debits………………………… 149.70
Current Statement Balance as Of 11/15/18……………………. 361.80
Number of Days in This Statement Period 33

***Checking Transactions***
(Debited from Account)
Tx # Date Amount
101 10/25 17.75
102 10/25 9.45
103 11/6 18.00

POS Debit 10/15

10/17 Sneaker World
63.00

10/21 Deposit 43.25

Withdrawal 10/25
10/25 TD Bank, N.A.
20.00

Statement Date 11/15/18

Tracy Transaction

________________________________________________________________________
***Checking Account Transactions***
Date Description Debits Credits
11/12 Deposit 125.00
11/5 Deposit 43.25
***Balance by Date***
11/7 Withdrawal 20.00
10/15 300.00 11/6 258.30
Fee Assessed
10/25 233.05 11/14
By Non-TD Bank 1.50
361.80

Financial Literacy 10Sourced from: TD Financial Education Ms. Schrempel