Agriculture in the Classroom
A Holiday Tradition: Which Christmas Tree Will You Choose?
Different varieties of Christmas trees provide an interesting way to combine social studies, science, math, and technology. Class members not only research the history of the Christmas tree holiday tradition, they compare and contrast...
Curated OER
Borrowing and Lending
Fourth graders investigate the advantages and disadvantages of borrowing money. For this financial awareness lesson, 4th graders read the book Ben and Me and create a table displaying the advantages and disadvantages of borrowing money.
Curated OER
Touring Delmarva
Students plan a trip. In this trip planning lesson, students use a map to find where they would like to visit with a pretend family of 4. They get a specific amount of money and time and need to decide where they will stay and what they...
Curated OER
A Day in the Life of a Homeless Person
Learners examine the day in the life of a homeless person. In this humanitarian lesson, students examine the life of a homeless person while discovering the importance of social justice in our society.
Federal Reserve Bank
Cotton in My Sack
As part of a study of saving choices and opportunity costs, class members listen to a reading of Lois Lenski's Cotton in My Sack, and then evaluate the spending choices made by the Hutley family.
PBS
Cesar Chavez: Labor Leader and Civil Rights Activist
Cesar Chavez believed so much in the cause of farmworkers that he put his money where his mouth was. Chavez quit his well-paying job to organize them into labor unions. Using a speech, photograph, and short biographical video, pupils...
University of Texas
Scarcity
How can having too little of something impact your life? Scholars investigate the concept of scarcity in their own lives and in the overall picture of the economy. Brainstorming activities as well as student-parent work bring to light...
Curated OER
Economics
Fourth graders study the effects of economics in their daily life. In this economics lesson, 4th graders construct a list of wants and needs if they had an unlimited supply of money. Students discuss how economics help people make...
Curated OER
Harmony Day - Driven Out
Children explore what life might be like for refugees and people migrating to a different country. Each student lists the five most precious items he/she owns and is then given an extreme scenario to consider. By the end of the exercise,...
North Carolina State University
Construction
Engineering design projects serve as great opportunities for collaborative problem solving. In this case, students work in small groups designing, building, and eventually testing a structure that meets a teacher-specified objective. It...
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Water from the Well
How much water does it take to brush your teeth? How about to wash your clothes? Perform an experiment that measures water usage in everyday tasks and compares them to the days before indoor plumbing, specifically the California gold...
Arizona Cooperative Extension
Geocaching
Using GPS units, small groups participate in a scavenger hunt to find an object that you have hidden. They use coordinates for stopping points along a pre-planned path to get to the final cache. This is a terrific activity to include in...
Curated OER
Distribution of Goods
Students study the concept of scarcity and that it requires people to make choices when trying to satisfy their unlimited wants. Groups are given bags of items and must distribute the items in the bag in a way that is acceptable to...
Curated OER
Mr. Popper's Penguin's
Fourth graders locate Antarctica and recognize it as the setting of Mr. Popper's Penguins. For this Mr. Popper's Penguins lesson, 4th graders understand the financial decisions made by Mr. Popper. Students discuss wise spending. Students...
Curated OER
Million Dollar Project
Young scholars calculate how they will spend a million dollars. In this millionaire math lesson, students complete a worksheet and then make a poster of how they would spend a million dollars. Each item and its cost must be shown. a...
Curated OER
Serfs and Lords
Students determine what the roles of serfs and lords were in feudal society. In this feudalism lesson, students examine what life was like for the different classes by looking at farm and manor life. They listen to Till Year's Good End,...
Curated OER
Connection to the Past
Students learn basic interviewing and biography writing skills. They first identify a senior citizen in their community who remembers the Great Depression.
Curated OER
Coca -- Cola Unveils New Global Ad Strategy
In this English worksheet, students complete a variety of exercises involving news generated about the soft drink Coke. Kids read an article, work on 6 warm-ups and answer 8 statements as true or false. Students match up 10 synonyms...
Curated OER
Imaginary Wealth and a Magazine Article
Students explore economics by writing a fictitious news article. In this personal wealth lesson, students participate in a role-playing activity in which the year is 2025 and they must write an article about their extremely wealthy...
Curated OER
U.S. Set to Celebrate Lincoln Bicentennial
Students use a news article about the celebration of the Lincoln Bicentennial to answer questions about Abraham Lincoln and the celebration. In this current events and US history lesson based on a news article, students participate in a...
Breaking News English
More People to Stick to New Year's Resolutions
What makes a good New Year's resolution? Practice goal-setting and reading comprehension with a set of language arts activities. English learners work on cloze passages, synonym matches, interviewing exercises, and comprehension...
Curated OER
How is the Game Played in an Economics Class?
Young scholars research companies, choose stocks, and create portfolios online while playing the stock market game.
Curated OER
Banking
Students examine how a checking account enables them to record spending and keep a budget in balance. They discover how to write a check and fill out a bank deposit slip, and then how to balance a bank statement with a check register.
Curated OER
Make Your Fortune in Stocks
Fourth graders participate in a stock investment activity in which they research stocks to place in an imaginary portfolio. They invest $10,000 in a variety of stocks and track their progress using the Internet or newspapers.