Council for Economic Education
Economic Systems of the Incas and Aztecs
The Inca and Aztecs created vast economic empires in South America, but how did economics play a role? A simulation activity and reading help scholars evaluate the kinds of markets these great civilizations created. They then consider...
Council for Economic Education
The Economic System of Medieval Europe
How are economics and politics intertwined? Societies in the Medieval period used feudalism for both economic and military reasons. The arrangement provided safety and met other needs. Using the included simulation, individuals...
Council for Economic Education
The Economics of Income: If You’re So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?
If basketball players make more than teachers, why shouldn't learners all aspire to play in the NBA? Unraveling the cost and benefits of education and future economic success can be tricky. Economic data, real-life cases, and some...
Arkansas Economics
The Bead Game
What better way to learn about different economic systems than to participate in them? An engaging bead game highlights the differences between market, command, and traditional economies. In small groups, 6th graders work through three...
Curated OER
Lesson 9: Tracking Commodities
Over the corse of a month, small groups will monitor the price of a specific energy commodity and analyze it in relation to global and domestic events. They play a trade simulation game and create infographics showing what they've...
Curated OER
Economics
Students simulate operating a coal mine and calculating the expense of mining operations by choosing a chocolate chip cookie, buying tools to mine the chocolate chips and using paper money to pay for the expense of mining.
Council for Economic Education
How Neolithic Farmers Increased Their Standard of Living
How do people improve their economic situations? While many learners may not consider questions about how many crops to grow in ancient times were economic decisions, a hands-on activity encourages individuals to make these connections....
Council for Economic Education
Great Civilizations Develop around Rivers
If you lived in prehistoric times, what kinds of choices could your family make to increase their chance of survival? By making similar decisions in a simulation game, participants discover how specialization creates both opportunity and...
Council for Economic Education
The Columbian Exchange
What did you have for dinner last night? Many scholars ask that question without considering the history behind the foods they eat. Using a simulation, scholars investigate how the foods they eat are the product of the Columbian...
Council for Economic Education
Paper Money of the Sung, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties
Why did the Chinese develop paper money? They were the first society to use paper currency. Learners consider why paper money was more convenient than other mechanisms of trade using a helpful lesson plan, which includes a graphic...
Curated OER
Coal Supply and Demand
A hands-on simulation perfect for an economics lesson, young learners investigate the availability of different sources of natural energy (coal, natural gas, oil, solar, and nuclear) and how this availability affects their cost. Simulate...
Curated OER
Pollution or Prevention?
Students examine potential contamination on the environment due to products and by-products of a new industrial process. Students conduct a lab that explores the economic differences between choices of pollution cleanup and prevention.
Curated OER
Swamps, Shrimp, and Tsunamis: A Simulation of Sustainable Development Issues in Coastal Ecuador
Students examine the economic benefits, environmental losses and dangers of the shrimp farming industry on the coast of Ecuador. They read a script, role-play people involved in the shrimp business, and write an essay of the pros and cons.
Curated OER
Pricing Your Craft Worksheet
This cross-curricular activity could be used to teach economics, business, practical math, and more. Learners pretend they are craftspeople and choose a craft to market. Using a graphic organizer and provided models, class members...
Carolina K-12
Learning About the Federal Budget: “Get a Pencil, You’re Tackling the Deficit!”
Your class members have been selected by the president to help solve the budget crisis as part of a special deficit commission. After learning about fiscal policy, economic theories, and the federal budget through a detailed PowerPoint...
Education Fund
Fear the Scarce Resources
In a life or death situation, what resources would you choose to survive—and why? A zombie attack simulation teaches learners the concepts of scarcity and resources in regards to economics. The hands-on activity requires individuals to...
Curated OER
Money Simulation (mini economy)
Students participate in a local, classroom economy in both the resource and products market. They track all transactions and learn economic principles and concepts.
Curated OER
Economics and emissions
Eighth graders produce a manufactured good and monitor energy consumption. In this Math lesson, 8th graders practice their basic math and accounting skills. Students participate in a business simulation.
Curated OER
It's About Supply and Demand
Watch an Instructional Television (ITV) video and participate in a simulation to explore supply and demand and how those two forces affect price.
Practical Money Skills
Buying a Home
Guide high schoolers through the process of buying a house with a simulation lesson. As pupils learn about mortgages, renting versus buying, and home inspections, they discuss ways to make informed financial decisions and sound purchases.
Council for Economic Education
Entrepreneurs in Mesopotamia
While ancient Mesopotamia didn't have the TV show "Shark Tank," it was a time of entrepreneurship as workers began to specialize. Both individual workers and the societal structure encouraged individuals to consider how they could...
Council for Economic Education
Preparing a 1040EZ Income Tax Form
Some of us never feel like we know how to do our taxes! Help scholars understand the process early by using an informative resource. They fill out their own tax forms in a simulation activity and view multiple resources to learn even...
Council for Economic Education
Business in the Middle Ages: Working in a Guild
Long before modern labor unions, guilds worked to ensure that workers had a fair wage. But, in medieval Europe, they also cooperated with the government. Using a simulation and primary source analysis, young scholars become hatters in...
US Institute of Peace
Simulation on Peacekeeping in Kashmir: An American Choice
Will the United States take a stand in the Kashmir conflict? A mock meeting of the minds examines a peace proposal between China, Pakistan, and India to determine if the United States should deploy troops to the area. Individuals take on...