Two examples of typical high school economics classes illustrate how such instruction frequently suffers from mediocre teaching and student disengagement. It is suggested that a curriculum focusing on economic reasoning could improve instruction and promote student interest. (CB)

Foreign Currency Exchange is the largest business in the world. The New York Institute of Finance estimates that somewhere around 1.5 trillion dollars changes hands every 24 hours. The trading of international currencies has made overnight millionaires. No other marketplace in the world can give a person more significant opportunity to make money…

This document contains two lesson plans. The first, "Fiscal and Monetary Policy via the Internet," seeks to expose high school students to Internet technology while introducing them to fiscal and monetary policy. Information gathering skills, economic understanding, policy application, and economic content retention should all be enhanced by this…

This lesson plan helps students understand the role consumer demand plays in the market system, i.e., how interactions in the marketplace help determine pricing. Students will participate in an activity that demonstrates the concepts of demand, demand schedule, demand curve, and the law of demand. The lesson plan provides student objectives;…

This lesson plan was developed through "Economics International," an international program to help build economic education infrastructures in the emerging market economies. It provides a lesson description; appropriate age level; economic concepts; content standards and benchmarks; related subject areas; instruction objectives; time…

Suggests a cost-of-living unit for business education classes which provides students with exercises that allow them to estimate the income gained from full-time work and examine the costs of independent living. The areas examined are employment, housing, transportation, food, child care, clothing, medical care, and savings. (CT)

Presents instructions for playing "Widgets and Blasters," an educational game designed to illustrate the functioning of a competitive market and help students understand economic models. Explains that the aims of the activity are to encourage students to identify the pattern of price over time and analyze the pattern in terms of…

As they work to master the supply-and-demand model, high school economics students spend considerable time studying competitive markets for such goods as wheat, apples, and corn. They usually spend less time studying markets for labor. That is a shame, because high school students have a vital interest in understanding why some jobs pay more than…

Designed for the general public and possibly suitable also for high school economics students, this pamphlet discusses a federal law that requires that the borrower as well as the lender comply with government rules relating to the use of credit in purchasing securities, even when the borrower obtains credit outside the United States. The pamphlet…

This publication is intended as a guide for teaching high school and adult education students about social insurance concepts. Goals of the project are that students: (1) understand the historical context from which social insurance programs emerged; (2) can participate fully as members of a democratic society in making informed decisions about…

This curriculum guide introduces high school students to the basic principles of microeconomics. Chapter 1 provides a basic definition of economics, while chapter 2 introduces a number of important economic concepts and ideas and examines reasons for unintended or unexpected consequences of decision-making. Chapter 3 considers how individual…

Several important economic concepts appear in the business curriculum designed for secondary schools in New York State. This manual assists the teacher by providing brief and simple definitions of major economic concepts, noting the implications of those concepts for business, and suggesting strategies that can be used to teach the principles and…

Offers an analysis of the Joint Council's "Framework for Teaching Basic (Economic) Concepts" in the area of macroeconomics. Suggests that the "Framework" be altered to include economic history, competing macro economic theories, and the great economic theorists and the problems they faced. Concludes that students must learn…

Discusses Galbraith's (see SO516713) three major points, 1) that the Joint Council's "Framework" should not hide the fact that macroeconomics is messy and political; 2) that the emphasis in the "Framework" is misplaced; and 3) that in certain areas, such as aggregate supply and demand, it is wrong. (JDH)

Briefly discusses programs designed and developed by Junior Achievement, focusing on the Applied Economics program, in which economic theory instruction is combined with practical usage. (AEM)