Basketball stars Drew Gooden of the Milwaukee Bucks and Iman Shumpert of the New York Knicks had some lessons to share with students attending a three-day workshop at UFT headquarters this summer. The lessons weren’t about dribbling or shooting baskets, but about using money wisely.

The 3rd- to 6th-grade students from PS 30 in East Harlem, one of the union’s community learning schools, and the UFT Charter School Elementary Academy in East New York were attending a financial literacy program from July 29 to 31. They may have bragging rights as they return to class about meeting star athletes, but they will also have the stories that the athletes told of their mistakes with money at the beginning of their careers because they knew so little about budgeting, saving and investing.

Using age-appropriate activities, games and plenty of interaction, volunteer experts from financial giant PricewaterhouseCoopers coached small groups of students through topics such as debt, credit, identity theft, creating a business plan and saving money.

On the second day of workshops, PS 30 students, tasked with creating a budget, were engaged in serious discussions as they sorted through all the necessities that had to be taken care of. UFT Community Resource Coordinator Rina Dorley-Amos reported, “The group worked it out so they had extra money to spend on fun things.”

Another group had physically twisted themselves into a knot — the mismanaged money problem knot — and were slowly working their way out. This kind of exercise, said UFT Charter School teacher Meghan Dixon, reflected the “interactive quality” of the lessons that kept the children involved.

An added treat for 5th- and 6th-graders was a trip to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, where 6th-grader Omesefe Ikpia learned about buyers and sellers and that “you have to raise the price to get more money.”

UFT Vice President Karen Alford described the program as “three days packed with exciting activities and a wonderful experience for our children.”

PricewaterhouseCoopers, a partner in the NYC Community Learning Schools Initiative, provided a similar three-day program for students at PS 18 in the Bronx, another community learning school.