In the fall of 2008, the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and St. Louis began a systematic evaluation of their economic and personal finance educational outreach programs. Both banks were interested in developing tools to assess the success of their existing economic and financial education programs. However, before any assessment could begin, a…

This booklet is designed to help first-time car buyers determine if they can or should buy a car and how to get the most from their car-buying dollar. Leasing and renting options also are discussed. The booklet outlines the process of buying a new car, starting with a review of sizes, types, and features. This is followed by a rundown on showroom…

The Illinois State Board of Education in cooperation with the Illinois Consumer Education Association produced this lesson plan book as a resource for teachers as they implement the consumer education mandate in secondary schools. Classroom instruction ideas, techniques, and lessons were provided by teachers from Illinois. A committee of consumer…

Two students (ages 18 and 20) with moderate mental retardation were taught to use a pocket calculator to make purchases. Progressive time delay and general case programing methods were used. Results indicated that the purchasing behaviors generalized to two untrained community sites and to untrained items and were maintained four weeks after…

This document consists of a handbook for consumers and a teacher's guide to the handbook. The first part of the handbook gives advice on how to be a smart consumer and includes information on how to get the most for the money, handle a complaint, write a complaint letter, use the handbook, select child care, protect personal property, choose a…

Lesson plans are provided for use with different populations of pre-K through senior high school students in four different areas of consumer education. Eight units in advertising are included: A First Look at Ads (pre-K-Grade 3), Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover (Grades 1-3), Fatal Distraction (Junior High), Package Labeling (Junior High), Product…

This personal finance guide assists teachers and curriculum committees in the selection of appropriate materials. The listings follow a common format: title; a brief description of the materials; the areas covered; the cost of materials; and information on how to obtain them. Materials cover the following areas: financial planning; purchase of…

This guide for high school consumer mathematics (one in a set of curriculum guides developed by Louisiana statewide mathematics curriculum committees) contains a course outline, performance objectives, and coordinated activities designed to teach skills that students will need as citizens and consumers. Background on the development,…

A major assignment for twelfth grade social science students at a California high school deals with the basic components of survival on one's own. Students must simulate moving out of their parents' home, finding a job, making major household and transportation purchases, buying on credit, investing money, buying insurance, and getting involved in…

This course in consumer economics for high school students is organized around a semester-long simulation in which students assume the responsibilities of young adults in making decisions related to the economics of work and domestic life. During the simulation, the students: (1) set individual goals; (2) choose occupations based on their goals…

This curriculum guide for consumer and family economics is one of a number of guides developed for use in vocational home economics education in Texas. Introductory materials address use of the guide and list the essential elements upon which the content is based. The guide is divided into seven units: family economics, consumers in the economy,…

Describes an economics class experiment where students ranked the quality of baked pies according to limited information. The limited sets of information included brand name and packaging only, price only, advertising only, word-of-mouth, and taste test. Discusses signals of quality and consumer decisions. (MJP)

This unit utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to economics education for children in middle school. The focus is on consumer awareness and there are four sections of learning activities and suggestions, one for each of the core disciplines: language arts, social studies, science, and math. The unit gives students experiences with concepts…

Materials are provided for a consumer education activity designed to help teenagers make knowledgeable, rational decisions when purchasing goods and services. A student manual describes how the activity--a consumer judging contest--works. Information is provided on how consumers make decisions. Topics include: needs versus wants; sources of…

These materials for the curriculum area of economics and managing resources comprise one of six such packages that are part of the Ohio Vocational Consumer/Homemaking Curriculum Guide. The curriculum area or perennial problem taken up in this document is divided into three practical problems about what to do regarding: (1) decision making; (2)…