This economics education publication focuses on the U.S. stock market and the risk and uncertainty that an individual faces when investing in the market. The material explains that risk and uncertainty relate to the same underlying concept randomness. It defines and discusses both concepts and notes that although risk is quantifiable, uncertainty…

These six newsletters present classroom tested activities in elementary economics. Each issue treats specific topics: scarcity, opportunity cost, production and specialization, consumption and demand, supply and production, prices and efficiency. In each issue, separate activities are provided for grades K-12, 3-4, and 5-6. For the most part,…

This paper defines globalization as the acceleration and intensification of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations. The paper states that questions as to globalization's effects on the world would probably be answered in different ways in different countries. It discusses the three tensions of…

This economic education publication features an article, "Does Consumer Confidence Measure Up to the Hype?," which defines consumer confidence and describes how it is measured. The article also explores why people might pay so much attention to consumer confidence indexes. The document also contains a question and answer section about deflation as…

"Give and Take" is a series of 12 15-minute television/film programs and related print materials on economics and consumer economics designed for 13- to 15-year-olds. The series purposes are to improve economics' knowledge and decision-making skills. This booklet contains reviews of six research studies that examined the impact of the…

This report examines trends, research, ideas, and practices in economics education today. The report begins with a discussion of where economics instruction stands today and where it seems to be going. Implications of current happenings are examined. Only eight percent of high school graduates today take an economics course. However, the National…

This "Inside the Vault" newsletter contains two issues. Issue 1 contains a lead article, "Reading the Fed's Playbook," a question-and-answer section, and a bulletin board. The Federal Reserve's primary mission is to ensure that enough money and credit are available to sustain economic growth without inflation. The article…

The theme for the spring/summer 2002 issue of "The Ledger" is "Warp Speed: How Life Has Changed since 1980." The issue provides an overview of economic and technological changes and focuses on: how people work; the way people handle their money; the way people learn; the cars people drive; how people spend their spare time; and…

Providing teacher background on the concepts of wages and profits, paying particular attention to how elementary children experience and learn these concepts, this document presents 3 teaching units. The grade K-2 unit, "A Job Well Done," provides activities which focus on different types of jobs and the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards…

This Fall 2001-Spring 2002 newsletter provides resources and information to educators, particularly economics, history, social studies, and business educators, throughout the western district of the Federal Reserve System. The goal of the newsletter is to highlight new Federal Reserve teaching materials and resources, including Web sites,…

The theme article of this issue, "Spending Money Wisely," by Donald R. Wentworth, begins with an explanation of basic strategies which aid wise spending. The article goes on to provide an introduction to economic reasoning related to consumer purchases and focusing on the role of incentives, scarcity, and alternatives. Four teaching units follow…

The theme article of this issue provides a conceptual introduction for teachers to the local community as a market. The introduction discusses the scarcity role in forcing decisions, individuals as producers, specialization of human resources, payment of human resources, and how wages reflect market conditions. Four grade-level specific units…

Beginning with a theme article supplying teacher background material on the role of business in the community, this issue focuses on the profit motive, competition, and the use of resources. Four instructional units on this topic are included for young children. The pre-kindergarten unit, "Pancake Producers," has children observe workers cooking…

This issue focuses on an economic understanding of the 1984 Olympiad, held in Los Angeles, California. The theme article provides a conceptual introduction focused on the role of scarcity in the giving of awards, allocation mechanisms, competition, consumption versus investment, and private and external benefits of the Olympics. Four instructional…

Beginning with a conceptual introduction which covers the topics of work in the United States, why people work, the labor force, labor markets, unemployment, and work and the young, this document goes on to offer four instructional units for preschool through sixth grade students. The preschool and kindergarten unit called "Earning More than…