| Level |
Lesson
|
Concepts |
Lesson Description
|
Content Areas |
Nebraska Standards |
National Standards
|
| Grades: K-2 |
Why We Save |
Choice, Money/Exchange, Saving, Spending, Opportunity cost |
Lesson 8, Personal Finance Economics K-12: Pocketwise. (PDF Format) Copyright ©1996, Council for Economic Education, New York, NY 10036. Used with permission. |
Personal finance |
NE Standards: SS 1.6, 1.7,1.8 |
US Standard: 1, 2, 5, 11;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: 1-3 |
The Goat in the Rug* |
Producers/Production, Resources-Human/Natural/Capital |
Geraldine, a goat, tells the story of a Navajo weaver who produces a rug using the goat's mohair. Learn about economics: producers, resources (natural, human, capital), intermediate goods; and Language Arts: Categorizing, sequencing, noting details, writing personal narrative. ©SPEC Publishing. |
Language Arts |
NE Standards: SS 1.6, 1.7 |
US Standard: 1, 3;
Benchmarks: 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 73
|
| Grades: 1-3 |
If you Give a Mouse a Cookie |
Goods and Services |
A little mouse shows up at a young man's house. The young man gives the mouse a cookie and starts a chain of events. Learn about unlimited wants, and goods and services. . ©SPEC Publishing. |
Language Arts |
NE Standards: SS 1.6 |
US Standard: 1, 3;
Benchmarks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
|
| Grades: 3-5 |
Why Do I Want All This Stuff? |
Demand, Consumers/Consumption |
Lesson 4, Personal Finance Economics 3-5: Smart Saving and Spending. Copyright ©1996, Council for Economic Education, New York, NY 10036. Used with permission. |
Personal Finance |
NE Standards: SS 4.8 |
US Standard: 2, 7, 8;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: 4-6 |
Nebraska Entrepreneur Hometown Heros, Lesson 10, (PDF) |
Entrepreneurs |
Selected lesson from a curriculum guide focusing on Nebraska entreprenuers. (PDF format) Creating your Own Career: Economics Lessons for Secondary Teachers, Authors: Derry Trampe, Chuck Parker, Tammie Fischer, and Mary Lynn Reiser.
©Nebraska Council on Economic Education |
Economics, history |
NE Standards: SS 4.2, 4.3, 4.8 |
US Standard: 14;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: 3-6, 6-8 |
The Mystery of the Amazing Farmers |
human capital,invest/investment,productivity,technological change |
EconEdLink: In this lesson you will be taking on the role of an an investigative reporter to solve the Amazing Farmer Mystery. The goal will be to use seven clues provided throughout the lesson in order to figure out how so few farmers can produce enough food and fiber for the nation. |
economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 1;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 3-5 |
Jobs: Who Needs 'Em? |
trade-offs, unemployment, trade-off |
EconEdLink: In this lesson students will look at the importance having some kind of job, at the consequences of having a job, having a non-paying job (like a stay-at-home mom), and having no job (whether it's intentional or not). |
economics, |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 19;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 3-5 |
Where Did You Come From? |
exports,imports,interdependence,specialization |
From EconEdLink: In this multiple intelligences lesson the students figure out why the United States imports some goods that we can grow right here! |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 6;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 3-5 |
The Colonial Workers Web |
consumers/consumption, goods and services,interdependence,producers/production,specialization |
From EconFun: Students will participate in an activity to explore how workers, both today and in colonial times, worked within their societies to produce specialized goods and services and became interdependent. Lesson 11 from Adventures in Economics and U.S. History, Volume 1. |
Economics,history |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 6;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 3-5 |
I have no money; will you take wampam? |
barter/trade,money/exchange,goods and services, interdependence |
From EconEdLink: Through the use of folk tales, history, and the students' own experiences, students will recognize the inter-relatedness of goods, services, money. They will locate information about barter as a means of trade, use folk tales as an historical instrument. |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 6,11;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 3-5 |
Saturday Sancocho |
money/exchange,barter,wants |
From St. Louis FRBank: In this lesson, students listen to a story and answer questions about a family in Central or South America that barters to get the ingredients for chicken sancocho, a kind of stew. The students complete sentences that record the various trades carried out by the family to obtain all of the ingredients for the sancocho. They participate in a trading activity where they barter with each other to get the ingredients needed to make chicken sancocho and learn about the difficulties associated with barter. They use money in a second round of the trading activity to learn about money's advantages over barter. |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 11;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 2-5 |
Folding Our Way to Productivity |
productivity, income, productive resources |
EconEdLink: Students role-play workers producing origami cups. They participate in two production rounds, one without training and one with training. Students observe how productivity increases through training and, as a result, how income increases. |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 13,15;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 4-6 |
Popcorn Economics |
Scarcity |
Lesson using popcorn to teach, and to help students experience, scarcity. Lesson by Mary Suiter, adapted from a lesson found in Kaleidascope, USA. Published by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education, UM-St. Louis. |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 4.8, 8.3.5 |
US Standard: 1;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: 4-6 |
The Real McCoy* |
Productivity, Entrepreneurs |
Elijah McCoy was an African-American inventor who successfully designed an automatic oil cup that may have inspired the popular phrase, "the real McCoy." Learn about increasing productivity and patents. ©SPEC Publishing. |
Language Arts |
NE Standards: SS 4.2, 4.3, 4.8 |
US Standard: 1, 12, 14;
Benchmarks: 1, 2
|
| Grades: 4-6 |
Homer Price (the Doughnuts)* |
Resources-Human/Natural/Capital, Factors of Production, Productivity |
The doughnut machine goes on a rampage making hundreds of doughnuts. Learn about capital resources, increasing productivity, law of demand, quantity demanded, and Language Arts: using reference materials, oral expression, organizing and sequencing information. ©SPEC Publishing. |
Language Arts |
NE Standards: SS 1.6, 1.7, 4.8, 4.9 |
US Standard: 1, 7;
Benchmarks: 1, 2, 3, 4
|
| Grades: K-3 |
When They Want Blueberries |
opportunity cost, choice,wants |
From EconFun: Students will hear Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McClosky, a story about two mothers and their offspring who wanted blueberries for the coming winter for themselves and their families. Then students will explore their own wants. Lesson 6 from Spotting the Economics: From Africa to Ice Cream. |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 1;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 3-5 |
Those Golden Jeans |
demand, natural resources,shortages and surpluses,supply,surpluses shortages |
EconEdLink: This lesson is designed to review the three types of productive resources-natural resources, human resources, and capital resources-needed to produce goods and services. Students use the internet to identify examples of each - first in the production of pizza, then the mining of gold during the California gold rush. |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: ;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 4-6 |
Nebraska Entrepreneur Success Stories, Lesson 1, (PDF) |
Entrepreneurs |
Selected lesson from a curriculum guide focusing on Nebraska entreprenuers. (PDF format) Creating your Own Career: Economics Lessons for Secondary Teachers, Authors: Derry Trampe, Chuck Parker, Tammie Fischer, and Mary Lynn Reiser.
©Nebraska Council on Economic Education |
Economics, history |
NE Standards: SS 4.2, 4.3, 4.8 |
US Standard: 14;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: K-2, 3-5 |
Mystery Workers |
goods and services,natural resources,producers/production |
EconEdLink: In this lesson students review the concepts of goods, services, and producers using the Internet to locate examples of each in a teacher's classroom. They learn about the three kinds of resources necessary to produce goods and provide services locating examples from a picture tour of the Crayola Factory. Through interviews they learn about the work of the people in their families and draw conclusions from their findings. Finally, they examine a picture of a farmer working in a field to identify examples of natural, human, and capital resources. |
Economics,history |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 1;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 3-5 |
Car Shopping |
economic systems, incentives, price |
EconEdLink: Contrary to US methods of distribution (namely prices), the Soviet Union used different methods of distribution of its goods during the reign of Communism. This lesson will explore the benefits and consequences of each of those methods of distribution. |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 3,4;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 2-4 |
Goods and Services: Some are Private, Some are Not |
taxes, goods and services, government goods, government services |
EconomicsInternational: Students make construction paper cutouts of businesses and structures and create a community map bulletin board. Students analyze the goods and services available in their community to determine that some are privately produced and governments provide others. Students learn that taxes, fees, and loans pay for government goods and services. |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 16;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 6-8 |
No Fireworks on the 4th of July |
goods, public goods |
EconEdLink: This lesson explores the differences between public and private goods. |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 16;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 3-5 |
The Story of Jack and the Bank Stalk |
money,banking,exchange,interest rate,opportunity cost,currency,functions of money |
EconEdLink: Fairy tales have always been used to give lessons about life. The story of Jack and the Bean Stalk is a good lesson about the importance of knowing about money and banks. The story of Jack asks the question, 'What is money?' |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 10,11;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 3-5, 6-8 |
Competition Works in Our Flavor |
competition,monopoly,role of government |
EconEdLink: Students will discover the role of the Federal Trade Commission, explain how competition encourages producers to produce more of what consumers are willing and able to buy. |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 9,16;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: K-2, 3-5 |
To Market To Market |
choice,consumers/consumption,decision-making,demand,markets,prices,producers/production,supply |
EconEdLink: This lesson will help students become good consumers and producers by taking turns buying and selling things in a classroom-created market. Students will establish prices for items and observe what happens during the sale of those items. |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 7,8,10;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: K-2, 3-5 |
Lean on Me - We Depend on Each Other |
Division of Labor, interdependence, specialization, productive resources |
EconEdLink: The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate that the production of most goods can be broken down into a number of specific tasks (division of labor), with each of these tasks assigned to specific workers (specialization.) |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 6;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 3-5, 6-8 |
Economic Spotter: Supply and Demand at the Gold Rush |
demand,quantity demanded,quantity supplied,shortage,supply,prices |
EconEdLink: During the Gold Rush, people paid exorbitant prices for ordinary objects. Why? Because of the laws of supply and demand, that's why! In the lesson, students will see how these laws fit into this great historical time. |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 7,8;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 3-5, 6-8 |
Lemon Squeeze - The Lemonade Stand |
demand,equilibrium price,markets,prices |
EconEdLink: Students can taste test three brands of lemonade and compare prices with taste - is the most expensive the best? Using a reader's theater students will construct a supply and demand schedule and can create a bar or line graph to demonstrate market interaction between buyers and sellers |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 7,8;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 4-8 |
Inventors: Dreaming Up New Ideas |
consumers/consumption,entrepreneurs,inventors,producers,productivity,profit |
EconFun: Students will read and discuss the historical book, A Head Full of Notions, about Robert Fulton. They will differentiate between inventors and entrepreneurs, describe the incentives that motivate them, and explore the important contributions they make to societys standard of living. This is Lesson 7 of Adventures in Economics and U.S. History, Volume 2 |
Economics, history |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 4,14;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: K-2, 3-5 |
The ABCs of Saving |
money management,opportunity cost,savings, trade-off, trade-offs |
EconEdLink: We save money to get things we can't afford to buy now. Saving for the future requires patience but it can be worth it when we get what we want the most. Successful savings depends on three elements which are presented to students as the ABCs of saving. |
Economics, personal finance |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 1,10;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 2-4 |
Earth Day - Hooray! |
incentives |
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank: In this lesson, students listen to the book Earth DayHooray! They learn how incentives change peoples behavior. |
economics, language arts |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 4;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 3-5, 6-8 |
The Best Deal |
choice, consumer/consumption,decision-making, incentive, price |
EconEdLink: Students will learn how to determine 'price per unit to help make decisions when comparing products. |
Economics,mathematics |
NE Standards: SS 0 |
US Standard: 8;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 6-8 |
M and M Interesting. |
trade-off, trade-offs, Opportunity Cost, Incentives |
Lesson 4, Personal Finance, Economics 608: Money in the Middle. Copyright ©1996, Council for Economic Education, New York, NY 10036. Used with permission. |
Personal Finance |
NE Standards: SS 8.3.5 |
US Standard: 2, 6, 15;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: 6-8 |
Popcorn Economics |
Scarcity |
Lesson using popcorn to teach, and to help students experience, scarcity. Lesson by Mary Suiter, adapted from a lesson found in Kaleidascope, USA. Published by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education, UM-St. Louis. |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 4.8, 8.3.5 |
US Standard: 1;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: 6-8 |
Give and Take** |
Opportunity Cost, trade-off, trade-offs, Choice |
After reading about a problem, students identify alternative solutions, trade-offs made in choosing each alternative, and the opportunity cost of selecting each option.. Students describe trade-offs and create a graphic. Unit 1, Lesson 2 from Focus: Middle School Economics, ©National Council on Economic Education. |
Mathematics |
NE Standards: SS 8.3.5 |
US Standard: 1, 2, 4;
Benchmarks: 1
|
| Grades: 6-12 |
How has the Constitution shaped the economy in the U.S.? |
Markets, Prices, Role of Government, Competition |
Class discussion and small group task identifying the six characteristics of a market economy and the provisions in the constitution that support a market economy. Unit 1, Lesson 1 from Focus on Economics: Civics and Government, ©National Council on Economic Education. |
Economics, Government |
NE Standards: SS 8.3.5 |
US Standard: 7, 16;
Benchmarks: 2, 5, 6, 7
|
| Grades: 6-12 |
Nebraska and the World (PDF) |
Barter/Trade, Role of Government, Barriers to Trade |
A resource guide and ten lessons for teachers focusing on the role of international trade in state development in Nebraska. by Tammie Fischer and Mary Lynn Reiser.
©UNL Center for Economic Education. |
Economics, Geography, Government |
NE Standards: SS 12.1.2,12.1.3 |
US Standard: 5,6,16;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: 6-12 |
What is a stock, or who owns McDonald's?** |
Profit, Choice |
Students will explore the fundamentals of stock ownership. They discuss how stock owners share the risks and rewards of purchasing stocks. Lesson 3 from Learning for the Market: Integrating the Stock Market Game Across the Curriculum, ©National Council on Economic Education. |
Business, Social studies, Language Arts |
NE Standards: SS 8.3.5 |
US Standard: 2, 4, 14;
Benchmarks: 1
|
| Grades: 6-12 |
Places and production** |
Economic Indicators |
Students calculate the US GDP and various examples from South America. Using this information, they make inferences about per-capita income. Lesson 7 from Focus on Economics: Geography, ©National Council on Economic Education. |
Economics, Geography |
NE Standards: SS 12.3.13 |
US Standard: 10, 18, 19;
Benchmarks: 1, 2
|
| Grades: 6-12 |
Limiting trade** |
Barter/Trade, Barriers to Trade |
Students learn about various types of trade restrictions and their effects by applying a model to determine who will benefit and who will be hurt by a tariff. Lesson 6 from Focus on Economics: Geography, ©National Council on Economic Education. |
Economics, Geography |
NE Standards: SS 12.1.2, 12.1.3, 12.3.13 |
US Standard: 1, 5, 6, 17;
Benchmarks: 1
|
| Grades: 6-12 |
Why Nations Trade** |
Barter/Trade, Opportunity Cost, Comparative Advantage |
After discussing the concept of comparative advantage, students in small groups engage in a simulation on the economic costs and benefits of trade. Lesson 3 from Focus on Economics: Geography, ©National Council on Economic Education. |
Economics, Geography |
NE Standards: SS 12.3.12, 12.3.13 |
US Standard: 5, 6;
Benchmarks: 1, 3, 4
|
| Grades: 6-12 |
What are the economic functions of government?** |
Role of Government |
Class discussion and small group task identifying six economics functions of government and examples of these functions using current events. Unit II, Lesson 4 from Focus on Economics: Civics and Government, ©National Council on Economic Education. |
Economics, Government |
NE Standards: SS 8.3.6 |
US Standard: 16;
Benchmarks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
|
| Grades: 6-12 |
Prohibition Then; MADD Today** |
Choice, Incentives |
Students read short histories of Prohibition and MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and work in small groups to evaluate the consequences of these policies on consumers' behavior. Lesson 9 from Focus on Economics: United States History, ©National Council on Economic Education. |
Economics, American History |
NE Standards: SS 12.3.11 |
US Standard: 1, 2, 4;
Benchmarks: 2, 4
|
| Grades: 9-12 |
Consumer Credit: Buy Now, Pay Later, and More. |
Choice, Opportunity Cost, Credit |
Lesson 10, Personal Decision Making: Focus on Economics. Copyright ©1996, (PDF Format) Council for Economic Education, New York, NY 10036. Used with permission. |
Personal Finance |
NE Standards: SS 12.3.11 |
US Standard: 1, 2;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: 9-12 |
How can business make money from tariffs?** |
Incentives, Barriers to Trade |
Students investigate the impact of tariffs on businesses and consumers during the 1880s by looking at a political cartoon, solving a short math problem, and comparing protectionism between time periods. Lesson 7 from Focus on Economics: United States History, ©National Council on Economic Education. |
Economics, American History |
NE Standards: SS 12.3.13 |
US Standard: 4, 17;
Benchmarks: 1
|
| Grades: 9-12 |
Civil War Andersonville prison |
Scarcity, Economic Systems |
Development of an economic system for a Civil War prison camp; Allocation of scarce resources. Learn about scarcity, economic wants, command economic systems, market economic systems, and markets and price. ©Nebraska Council on Economic Education |
Economics, History |
NE Standards: SS 12.3.11 |
US Standard: 1,2,3;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: 9-12 |
Is the Tassle worth the Hassle? |
Choice, Opportunity Cost, Incentives |
Analysis of the costs and benefits of educational choices. Learn about economic choice, opportunity cost, and incentives. ©Nebraska Council on Economic Education |
Economics, Consumer Econnomics |
NE Standards: SS 12.3.11 |
US Standard: 1,2,4;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: 9-12 |
School for Sale |
Public Goods, Incentives, Economic Goals |
Examination of the case for privatizing a public school. Learn about public goods, private goods, costs, incentives, and economic efficiency. ©Nebraska Council on Economic Education |
Economics; Government |
NE Standards: SS 12.3.12 |
US Standard: 16;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: 9-12 |
Demand and Supply On-line |
Demand, Supply, Equilibrium Price |
Basic discussion of demand and supply and the determinants of demand and supply. Includes self-quiz for students on understanding shifts in demand and supply. ©Kim Sosin |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 12.3.11 |
US Standard: 7,8;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: 9-12 |
Nebraska Entreprenuers: Creating Your Own Careers |
Entrepreneurs, Productivity, Profit |
Ten lessons focusing on the characteristics of entreprenuers in the economy. Several lessons deal with Nebraska entreprenuers. ©Nebraska Council on Economic Education |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 8.3.5, 12.3.11 |
US Standard: 14;
Benchmarks:
|
| Grades: 9-12 |
Understanding Exchange Rates |
Exchange Rates |
Selected lesson from a curriculum guide on international trade and Nebraska (PDF format), Nebraska and the World, Lesson 5 on Exchange Rates. Published by UNL Center for Economic Education |
Economics |
NE Standards: SS 12.3.13 |
US Standard: 7,11;
Benchmarks: 0
|
| Grades: 9-12 |
How can entrepreneurs control costs?** |
Factors of Production, Entrepreneurs |
Students examine the difference between fixed and variable costs, make predictions and recommend actions for a hypothetical business. Lesson 20 from Entrepreneurship and the U.S. Economy, ©National Council on Economic Education. |
Business, Accounting, Economics |
NE Standards: SS 12.3.11 |
US Standard: 9, 14;
Benchmarks:
|
