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Lesson Plans & Activities

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Economics Lesson Plans

A Basket of Bangles: How a Business Begins

Students listen to a story and answer questions about lending in Bangladesh. They complete a diagram that shows the impact of lending on a community. Working as a class, they compare the similarities and differences between banks lending in the United States and the Grameen Bank lending in Bangladesh. Students work with a partner to estimate profits based on Sufiya's prices and costs in the book. (Book written by Ginger Howard / ISBN: 0-7613-1902-6)

Earth Day—Hooray!

Students listen to the book Earth Day—Hooray! and learn how incentives change people's behavior. The students learn how characters in the book collect cans to sell to the recycling center and use the money they receive to buy flowers to plant in the park. In a classroom discussion of the story, students track the number of cans brought to school each day. Students evaluate scenarios to determine what behavior is being encouraged or discouraged and to identify whether the incentives are rewards or penalties. (Book written by Stuart J. Murphy / ISBN: 0-06-000129-1)

The Goat in the Rug

Students listen to the book The Goat in the Rug, about a Navajo weaver who uses a number of resources and intermediate goods to make a traditional Navajo rug. The students are placed in groups to learn about productive resources and intermediate goods. They play a matching game and make posters to classify the natural resources, human resources, capital resources and intermediate goods used in the story. (Book written by Charles L. Blood and Martin Link / ISBN: 0-689-71418-1)

Less Than Zero

Students learn about saving, savings goals, interest, borrowing and opportunity cost by reading Less Than Zero. Students use a number line and a line graph to track spending and borrowing in the story. (Book written by Stuart J. Murphy / ISBN: 0-06-000126-7)

Money, Money, Honey Bunny!

Students listen to a story written in rhyme about a bunny who has a lot of money in her piggy bank. Students distinguish between spending and saving and goods and services. They play a matching game to review the content of the story and to practice rhyming words. (Book written by Marilyn Sadler / ISBN: 0-375-93370-0)

Monster Musical Chairs

Students listen to the story and identify the scarcity problem the monsters had—not enough chairs for every monster to have one. Students wear a picture of a want they have drawn and play a version of musical chairs in which the chairs are labeled goods. Students learn that a good can satisfy a want. They also learn that, because of scarcity, not everyone's wants are satisfied. (Book written by Stewart Murphy / ISBN: 0-06-028020-4)

My Side of the Mountain

After reading the book My Side of the Mountain, students discuss the human capital that Sam possessed, the investments in human capital that he made and why these investments were important. Students work in groups to create a four-fold chart to help them define and understand the meaning of investment in human capital. Students use a KWLH chart to create a plan for investing in their human capital. (Book written by Jean Craighead George / ISBN: 0-14-240111-0)

The Pickle Patch Bathtub

Students learn about opportunity cost, saving, savings goals and a savings plan by reading The Pickle Patch Bathtub. Students will develop savings plans that lead to their own savings goals. (Book written by Frances Kennedy / ISBN: 1-58246-112-0)

Piggy Bank Primer: Saving and Budgeting

Through a story and activities, the student book introduces students to economic concepts such as saving, spending, budgeting, wants, goods, services and opportunity cost.

Saturday Sancocho

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 also participate in trading activities that illustrate money's advantages over barter. (Book written by Leyla Torres / ISBN: 0-374-46451-0)

Saving Strawberry Farm

In this lesson, students learn that saving is essential to economic well-being, especially in times of extreme economic downturn. They read Saving Strawberry Farm, a story about a Depression-era family attempting to save a neighbor's farm by waging a penny auction. Students hear about the lack of goods and services available and the high rate of joblessness during this terrible time. They simulate a bank run to see how even those with savings were affected. Finally, they learn that savings are safe in banks today. (Book written by Deborah Hopkinson / ISBN: 0-688-17400-0)

So Few of Me

Students learn about scarcity, alternatives, choices and opportunity costs by reading So Few of Me. The class participates in an activity to help Perdita figure out her morning schedule at summer camp. The students identify Perdita's alternatives, choose activities for her and identify the opportunity costs of those choices. Then, students work in groups to make choices and identify opportunity costs for Juan's after-school schedule. (Book written by Peter H. Reynolds / ISBN: 076362623-6)

Something from Nothing

Students make a choice between a cookie and an ice cream cone and state the opportunity cost of their decisions. They then listen to the story Something from Nothing and identify all the items Grandpa makes his grandson Joseph, beginning with a blanket. Using a sheet of paper that represents Joseph's blanket, students cut out the various items Grandpa made and identify the opportunity cost for each item they cut out. (Book written by Phoebe Gilman / ISBN 0-590-47280-1)

Ten Mile Day

In this multidisciplinary lesson, students work in small groups ("work crews") while participating in a production activity. Students learn about competition, division of labor, and incentives. They also demonstrate how division of labor and incentives help lead to greater productivity. (Book written by Mary Ann Fraser / ISBN: 0-8050-4703-4)

Tortilla Factory

Students observe the teacher produce a paper taco and then produce their own paper tacos. Students learn about the productive resources and intermediate goods used to make final goods and services. They listen to the book Tortilla Factory and identify the productive resources and intermediate goods used to produce corn tortillas. Students classify the resources used to produce their paper tacos. (Book written by Gary Paulsen / ISBN: 0-15-201698-8)

Money & Banking Lesson Plans

Abraham Lincoln and the Five-Dollar Note

Students participate in a puzzle activity to identify leadership characteristics that Abraham Lincoln possessed. They review the changes in the redesigned $5 note and consider how Lincoln’s leadership characteristics contribute to the fact that he is pictured on the $5 note. Students look at a timeline of Lincoln’s life and identify significant events in his road to the White House. They play a game to review content learned in the lesson.

A Basket of Bangles: How a Business Begins

Students listen to a story and answer questions about lending in Bangladesh. They complete a diagram that shows the impact of lending on a community. Working as a class, they compare the similarities and differences between banks lending in the United States and the Grameen Bank lending in Bangladesh. Students work with a partner to estimate profits based on Sufiya's prices and costs in the book. (Book written by Ginger Howard / ISBN: 0-7613-1902-6)

Less Than Zero

Students learn about saving, savings goals, interest, borrowing and opportunity cost by reading Less Than Zero by Stuart J. Murphy. Students use a number line and a line graph to track spending and borrowing in the story. (Book written by Stuart J. Murphy / ISBN: 0-06-000126-7)

Money, Money, Honey Bunny!

Students listen to a story written in rhyme about a bunny who has a lot of money in her piggy bank. Students distinguish between spending and saving and goods and services. They play a matching game to review the content of the story and to practice rhyming words. (Book written by Marilyn Sadler / ISBN: 0-375-93370-0)

Monster Musical Chairs

Students listen to the story and identify the scarcity problem the monsters had—not enough chairs for every monster to have one. Students wear a picture of a want they have drawn and play a version of musical chairs in which the chairs are labeled goods. Students learn that a good can satisfy a want. They also learn that, because of scarcity, not everyone's wants are satisfied. (Book written by Stewart Murphy / ISBN: 0-06-028020-4)

On the Court with ... Michael Jordan

Students participate in a simulation to learn about choices, alternatives, opportunity cost and human capital. They learn the PACED decision-making model, apply the model and recognize that learning the model is an investment in their human capital. Student groups build a tower with paper cups. Each group has different physical abilities based on an assigned level of human capital. (Book written by Matt Christopher / ISBN: 0-316-13792-8)

The Pickle Patch Bathtub

Students learn about opportunity cost, saving, savings goals and a savings plan by reading The Pickle Patch Bathtub. Students will develop savings plans that lead to their own savings goals. (Book written by Frances Kennedy / ISBN: 1-58246-112-0)

Piggy Bank Primer: 25 Cents Worth of History

Students take a close look at nickels and quarters commemorating many of the proudest moments in our country and in the seven states that make up the Federal Reserve's Eighth District.

Piggy Bank Primer: Saving and Budgeting

Through a story and activities, the student book introduces students to economic concepts such as saving, spending, budgeting, wants, goods, services and opportunity cost.

Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression

After reading and discussing a story about a family during the Great Depression, students differentiate between goods, services, barter and money. Students are led through several rounds of a barter activity that incorporates math skills. Through this activity, students learn about the difficulties of using barter to satisfy wants. (Book written by Kate Lied / ISBN: 0-7922-6946-2)

Saturday Sancocho

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 also participate in trading activities that illustrate money's advantages over barter. (Book written by Leyla Torres / ISBN: 0-374-46451-0)

Saving Strawberry Farm

In this lesson, students learn that saving is essential to economic well-being, especially in times of extreme economic downturn. They read Saving Strawberry Farm, a story about a Depression-era family attempting to save a neighbor's farm by waging a penny auction. Students hear about the lack of goods and services available and the high rate of joblessness during this terrible time. They simulate a bank run to see how even those with savings were affected. Finally, they learn that savings are safe in banks today. (Book written by Deborah Hopkinson / ISBN: 0-688-17400-0)

Personal Finance Lesson Plans

Less Than Zero

Students learn about saving, savings goals, interest, borrowing and opportunity cost by reading Less Than Zero. Students use a number line and a line graph to track spending and borrowing in the story. (Book written by Stuart J. Murphy / ISBN: 0-06-000126-7)

Money, Money, Honey Bunny!

Students listen to a story written in rhyme about a bunny who has a lot of money in her piggy bank. Students distinguish between spending and saving and goods and services. They play a matching game to review the content of the story and to practice rhyming words. (Book written by Marilyn Sadler / ISBN: 0-375-93370-0)

Monster Musical Chairs

Students listen to the story and identify the scarcity problem the monsters had—not enough chairs for every monster to have one. Students wear a picture of a want they have drawn and play a version of musical chairs in which the chairs are labeled goods. Students learn that a good can satisfy a want. They also learn that, because of scarcity, not everyone's wants are satisfied. (Book written by Stewart Murphy / ISBN: 0-06-028020-4)

The Pickle Patch Bathtub

Students learn about opportunity cost, saving, savings goals and a savings plan by reading The Pickle Patch Bathtub. Students will develop savings plans that lead to their own savings goals. (Book written by Frances Kennedy / ISBN: 1-58246-112-0)

Piggy Bank Primer: Saving and Budgeting

Through a story and activities, the student book introduces students to economic concepts such as saving, spending, budgeting, wants, goods, services and opportunity cost.

Saturday Sancocho

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 also participate in trading activities that illustrate money's advantages over barter. (Book written by Leyla Torres / ISBN: 0-374-46451-0)

Saving Strawberry Farm

In this lesson, students learn that saving is essential to economic well-being, especially in times of extreme economic downturn. They read Saving Strawberry Farm, a story about a Depression-era family attempting to save a neighbor's farm by waging a penny auction. Students hear about the lack of goods and services available and the high rate of joblessness during this terrible time. They simulate a bank run to see how even those with savings were affected. Finally, they learn that savings are safe in banks today. (Book written by Deborah Hopkinson / ISBN: 0-688-17400-0)

So Few of Me

Students learn about scarcity, alternatives, choices and opportunity costs by reading So Few of Me. The class participates in an activity to help Perdita figure out her morning schedule at summer camp. The students identify Perdita's alternatives, choose activities for her and identify the opportunity costs of those choices. Then, students work in groups to make choices and identify opportunity costs for Juan's after-school schedule. (Book written by Peter H. Reynolds / ISBN: 076362623-6)

Something from Nothing

Students make a choice between a cookie and an ice cream cone and state the opportunity cost of their decisions. They then listen to the story Something from Nothing and identify all the items Grandpa makes his grandson Joseph, beginning with a blanket. Using a sheet of paper that represents Joseph's blanket, students cut out the various items Grandpa made and identify the opportunity cost for each item they cut out. (Book written by Phoebe Gilman / ISBN 0-590-47280-1)

Ten Mile Day

In this multidisciplinary lesson, students work in small groups ("work crews") while participating in a production activity. Students learn about competition, division of labor, and incentives. They also demonstrate how division of labor and incentives help lead to greater productivity. (Book written by Mary Ann Fraser / ISBN: 0-8050-4703-4)

Economics & History Lesson Plans

Abraham Lincoln and the Five Dollar Note

Students participate in a puzzle activity to identify leadership characteristics that Abraham Lincoln possessed. They review the changes in the redesigned $5 note and consider how Lincoln’s leadership characteristics contribute to the fact that he is pictured on the $5 note. Students look at a timeline of Lincoln’s life and identify significant events in his road to the White House. They play a game to review content learned in the lesson.

Piggy Bank Primer: 25 Cents Worth of History

Students take a close look at nickels and quarters commemorating many of the proudest moments in our country and in the seven states that make up the Federal Reserve's Eighth District.

Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression

After reading and discussing a story about a family during the Great Depression, students differentiate between goods, services, barter and money. Students are led through several rounds of a barter activity that incorporates math skills. Through this activity, students learn about the difficulties of using barter to satisfy wants. (Book written by Kate Lied / ISBN: 0-7922-6946-2)

Saving Strawberry Farm

In this lesson, students learn that saving is essential to economic well-being, especially in times of extreme economic downturn. They read Saving Strawberry Farm, a story about a Depression-era family attempting to save a neighbor's farm by waging a penny auction. Students hear about the lack of goods and services available and the high rate of joblessness during this terrible time. They simulate a bank run to see how even those with savings were affected. Finally, they learn that savings are safe in banks today. (Book written by Deborah Hopkinson / ISBN: 0-688-17400-0)

Lesson Plans to Complement Children's Books

A Basket of Bangles: How a Business Begins

Students listen to a story and answer questions about lending in Bangladesh. They complete a diagram that shows the impact of lending on a community. Working as a class, they compare the similarities and differences between banks lending in the United States and the Grameen Bank lending in Bangladesh. Students work with a partner to estimate profits based on Sufiya's prices and costs in the book. (Book written by Ginger Howard / ISBN: 0-7613-1902-6)

Earth Day—Hooray!

Students listen to the book Earth Day—Hooray! and learn how incentives change people's behavior. The students learn how characters in the book collect cans to sell to the recycling center and use the money they receive to buy flowers to plant in the park. In a classroom discussion of the story, students track the number of cans brought to school each day. Students evaluate scenarios to determine what behavior is being encouraged or discouraged and to identify whether the incentives are rewards or penalties. (Book written by Stuart J. Murphy / ISBN: 0-06-000129-1)

The Goat in the Rug

Students listen to the book The Goat in the Rug, about a Navajo weaver who uses a number of resources and intermediate goods to make a traditional Navajo rug. The students are placed in groups to learn about productive resources and intermediate goods. They play a matching game and make posters to classify the natural resources, human resources, capital resources and intermediate goods used in the story. (Book written by Charles L. Blood and Martin Link / ISBN: 0-689-71418-1)

Less Than Zero

Students learn about saving, savings goals, interest, borrowing and opportunity cost by reading Less Than Zero. Students use a number line and a line graph to track spending and borrowing in the story. (Book written by Stuart J. Murphy / ISBN: 0-06-000126-7)

Money, Money, Honey Bunny!

Students listen to a story written in rhyme about a bunny who has a lot of money in her piggy bank. Students distinguish between spending and saving and goods and services. They play a matching game to review the content of the story and to practice rhyming words. (Book written by Marilyn Sadler / ISBN: 0-375-93370-0)

Monster Musical Chairs

Students listen to the story and identify the scarcity problem the monsters had—not enough chairs for every monster to have one. Students wear a picture of a want they have drawn and play a version of musical chairs in which the chairs are labeled goods. Students learn that a good can satisfy a want. They also learn that, because of scarcity, not everyone's wants are satisfied. (Book written by Stewart Murphy / ISBN: 0-06-028020-4)

My Side of the Mountain

After reading the book My Side of the Mountain, students discuss the human capital that Sam possessed, the investments in human capital that he made and why these investments were important. Students work in groups to create a four-fold chart to help them define and understand the meaning of investment in human capital. Students use a KWLH chart to create a plan for investing in their human capital. (Book written by Jean Craighead George / ISBN: 0-14-240111-0)

On the Court with ... Michael Jordan

Students participate in a simulation to learn about choices, alternatives, opportunity cost and human capital. They learn the PACED decision-making model, apply the model and recognize that learning the model is an investment in their human capital. Student groups build a tower with paper cups. Each group has different physical abilities based on an assigned level of human capital. (Book written by Matt Christopher / ISBN: 0-316-13792-8)

The Pickle Patch Bathtub

Students learn about opportunity cost, saving, savings goals and a savings plan by reading The Pickle Patch Bathtub. Students will develop savings plans that lead to their own savings goals. (Book written by Frances Kennedy / ISBN: 1-58246-112-0)

Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression

After reading and discussing a story about a family during the Great Depression, students differentiate between goods, services, barter and money. Students are led through several rounds of a barter activity that incorporates math skills. Through this activity, students learn about the difficulties of using barter to satisfy wants. (Book written by Kate Lied / ISBN: 0-7922-6946-2)

Saturday Sancocho

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 also participate in trading activities that illustrate money's advantages over barter. (Book written by Leyla Torres / ISBN: 0-374-46451-0)

Saving Strawberry Farm

In this lesson, students learn that saving is essential to economic well-being, especially in times of extreme economic downturn. They read Saving Strawberry Farm, a story about a Depression-era family attempting to save a neighbor's farm by waging a penny auction. Students hear about the lack of goods and services available and the high rate of joblessness during this terrible time. They simulate a bank run to see how even those with savings were affected. Finally, they learn that savings are safe in banks today. (Book written by Deborah Hopkinson / ISBN: 0-688-17400-0)

So Few of Me

Students learn about scarcity, alternatives, choices and opportunity costs by reading So Few of Me. The class participates in an activity to help Perdita figure out her morning schedule at summer camp. The students identify Perdita's alternatives, choose activities for her and identify the opportunity costs of those choices. Then, students work in groups to make choices and identify opportunity costs for Juan's after-school schedule. (Book written by Peter H. Reynolds / ISBN: 076362623-6)

Something from Nothing

Students make a choice between a cookie and an ice cream cone and state the opportunity cost of their decisions. They then listen to the story Something from Nothing and identify all the items Grandpa makes his grandson Joseph, beginning with a blanket. Using a sheet of paper that represents Joseph's blanket, students cut out the various items Grandpa made and identify the opportunity cost for each item they cut out. (Book written by Phoebe Gilman / ISBN 0-590-47280-1)

Ten Mile Day

In this multidisciplinary lesson, students work in small groups ("work crews") while participating in a production activity. Students learn about competition, division of labor, and incentives. They also demonstrate how division of labor and incentives help lead to greater productivity. (Book written by Mary Ann Fraser / ISBN: 0-8050-4703-4)

Tortilla Factory

Students observe the teacher produce a paper taco and then produce their own paper tacos. Students learn about the productive resources and intermediate goods used to make final goods and services. They listen to the book Tortilla Factory and identify the productive resources and intermediate goods used to produce corn tortillas. Students classify the resources used to produce their paper tacos. (Book written by Gary Paulsen / ISBN: 0-15-201698-8)