Economics Education Lessons
A solid understanding of economics teaches students about business fundamentals, and how to budget and spend more wisely. It also deepens understanding of world events and issues in the news. The National Council for Economic Education and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis offer an array of lessons to help elementary and secondary teachers introduce economic principles to their students.
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Elementary Lessons
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The Council for Economic Education, a foundation promoting economic literacy among K-12 students and teachers, offers a wide range of lesson plans for elementary school students that infuse information about economics and personal finance into reading, writing and mathematics. The K-2 lessons teach basic economic concepts such as scarcity, natural resources, and the difference between needs and wants. The lessons include hands-on activities for students and assessment items to test student comprehension of the material. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis offers economics lessons for elementary students, as well. Some lessons require students to listen to stories that illustrate the importance of saving and the impact of lending. Others use the work of popular children's authors such as Laura Ingalls Wilder to illustrate economic concepts such as production, human resources and natural resources.
Middle School Lessons
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Middle school economics and personal finance lessons from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis involve activities that illustrate consumer decision making by having students keep track of hypothetical cash resources and financial obligations. Other lessons have students work in groups on a production activity to illustrate market competition and the division of labor. Council for Economic Education lessons help middle school students understand the economy on a broader scale with lessons that involve operating a classroom business or even managing a classroom economy. Other lessons enhance financial literacy and build student knowledge of investing, trade and exchange.
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High School Lessons
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Some states require a course in basic economics among their high school graduation requirements. Lessons from the Council for Economic Education build basic economic literacy by instructing students on the importance of economics in government and the political process. Other lessons prepare high school students for college-level work with basic instruction in macroeconomics and microeconomics. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis' website contains high school lessons that instruct students on economic globalization, currency and the role of the Federal Reserve and the value of diversifying an investment portfolio.
Internet Lessons
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Some high school economics lessons make use of the Internet to engage students. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, for example, produced a video game that combines science fiction themes with economic principles. The game, "Econ201," requires students to direct the actions of a group of extraterrestrials from a world of unlimited resources as they cope with life on Earth, where resources are limited and must be allocated among needs and wants.
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