6-8 Lessons

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Lessons

Grades	Lesson	Concept	Lesson Description	Content Areas	NE Standard(s)	US Econ Standard(s)
6-12	Understanding Currency Exchange Rates: Lesson 5 of Nebraska and the World	Exchange Rates	UNL Center for Econ Ed: The value of money is determined when people are willing to accept it in exchange for goods and services. The daily exchanges of currency between the U.S. and other nations have a major effect on international trade with Nebraska	Economics	12.2.13	7 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	No Fireworks on the Fourth of July	Goods, Public Goods	This lesson explores the differences between public and private goods.	Economics	N/A	16 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	Running an Export Business: Lesson 6 from Nebraska and the World	Markets	Imports and exports are important for a strong state economy in that both provide jobs for citizens. In this simulation, groups of students will form a corporation, develop a product, and market it abroad. Using information provided by community resources, students will follow the procedure for doing international business and completing a successful exporting transaction.	Economics	8.2.1	7 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	Nebraska Does Business with the World: Lesson 3 from Nebraska and the World	Specialization	This activity looks at the extensive connections between Nebraska and the international economy using recent census results.	Economics	8.2.12	6 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	The Colonial Workers Web: Lesson 11	Consumers/Consumption, Goods /Services, Interdependence, Producers/Production, Specialization	Students will participate in an activity to explore how workers, both today and in colonial times, worked within their societies to produce specialized goods and services and became interdependent. Lesson 11 from Adventures in Economics and U.S. History, Volume 1.	Economics, History	8.2.1	6 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	The Ice Cream Stand	Demand, Supply, Prices	Students will learn about supply, demand, price, competition, and entrepreneurial skills in this lesson. They will put what they learned into action by creating an ice cream stand, to complete with other stands in the classroom.	Economics	8.2.2	8 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	Supply and Demand Lessons from Toy Fads	Demand, Supply, Prices, Equilibrium Price	The concepts of supply and demand and related terms are taught through stories about the toy fads of Hula Hoops and Silly Bandz. In 1958, Wham-O, Inc.	Economics	8.2.2	7 8 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	Lean on Me-We Depend on each Other	Division of Labor, Interdependence, Specialization, Productive Resources	The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate that the production of most goods can be broken down into a number of specific tasks (division of labor), with each of these tasks assigned to specific workers (specialization).	Economics	N/A	6 Benchmarks: 0
6-12	They Say We had a Revolution	Economic Growth, Technological Change, Incentives, Inventors, Innovations	In this series of three lessons,the students examine transportation and its impact on our nation (and vice versa) since the United States declared its independence in 1776. There are three lessons here.	Economics, Personal Finance	N/A	4 6 15 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	The Entrepreneur Next Door	Entrepreneurs	Chapter 4 of Entrepreneurship Arkansas Style. This lesson is designed for students to understand that an entrepreneur can be a really famous and successful person or simply a neighbor who has started a business in order to make a living from a passion.	Economics	8.2.5	3 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	Prices are Changing	Equilibrium Price	This lesson will help students to understand how markets are created by the interaction of buyers and sellers, what demand and supply are, what equilibrium price is, and how demand and supply interact with price changes.	Economics	8.2.2	7 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	Recession Hits the Poorest of the Poor 6/1/09	Income Distribution	The decline in poverty around the world is the result of unprecedented economic growth. But, the current economic crisis reminds us that just as economic growth helps raise standards of living of the poor, a world-wide recession in which rates of growth fall, sends many back into poverty.	Economics	8.2.10	3 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	What Causes Inflation?	Inflation	What happened to that dollar? Why won't it buy as much as it did last month or last year? What happened is inflation. In this lesson you will examine the various causes and theories of inflation as well as how it affects different groups in the economy such as savers, lender, and people living on fixed incomes	Economics	8.2.3	11 19 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	Nebraska's Role in U.S. Exports: Lesson 2 in Nebraska and the World	International Trade, Specialization	Nebraska, like other states, is always looking for ways to increase its wealth. One way to expand Nebraska markets is to increase the number of products exported by Nebraska businesses. This activity will look at what role Nebraska plays in international trade. Students will also find out what types of businesses are engaged in exporting, what kinds of products are shipped overseas, and to what countries	Economics	8.2.12	5 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	In Your own Backyard	Markets	Students will identify entrepreneurial opportunities that exist in their own community. Students will access web sites for information about pollution trends and demographic information about their community. From this information students will determine possible market niches and identify potential businesses that could be started to meet the demands of these niches.	Economics	8.2.1	7 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	M and M Interesting	Opportunity Cost	Lesson 4, Personal Finance, Economics 608: Money in the Middle. Copyright ©1996, Council for Economic Education, New York, NY 10036. Used with permission	Personal Finance	N/A	2 6 15 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	Give and Take	Opportunity Cost, Trade-offs, Choice	After reading about a problem, students identify alternative solutions, trade-offs made in choosing each alternative, and the opportunity cost of selecting each option.. Students describe trade-offs and create a graphic. Unit 1, Lesson 2 from Focus: Middle School Economics, ©Council for Economic Education.	Mathematics	N/A	1 2 4 Benchmarks: 1
6-8	Lesson 9: Production Costs	Producers/Production	This hands-on lesson will help students understand what an entrepreneur must grapple with in terms of controlling costs of production as well as developing an understanding of the concept of diminishing returns.	Economics	8.2.1	13 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	Ten Mile Day	Productivity	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.	Economics	8.2.1	13 15 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	Lesson 5: Competition and Market Structure	Profit	Students will play a game that is like a competitive market. While playing the game, it is intended that students will “discover” that the price of the product is determined by the interaction of suppliers of the product and demanders of the product. If the existing price in a competitive market is lower than the unit costs of production, then that would not be a good market to enter because only losses will result.	Economics	8.2.1	14 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	Goods and Services: Some are Private, Some are Not	Public Goods, Government Goods, Government Services, Taxes, Private Property	The role of government is to provide for the common defense, define and protect property rights, and enforce contractual arrangements. Throughout the 20th and early 21st century, government has increased its role in economic life.	Economics	8.2.4 8.2.10	10 16 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	The Mystery of: Is this Mine or is it Yours?	Public Goods, Private Property	How did the road, the park or the street lights get there? Who paid for them? As a matter of fact, just who owns them?	Economics	8.2.4 8.2.10	16 Benchmark: 0
6-8	Popcorn Economics	Scarcity	Lesson using popcorn to teach, and to help students experience, scarcity. Lesson by Mary Suiter, adapted from a lesson found in Kaleidoscope, USA. Published by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education, UM-St. Louis.	Economics	0.2.1	1 Benchmarks: 0
6-12	Where Does the Money Come From?	Taxes	With very few exceptions, the U.S. federal government does not have an "income" to spend providing goods and services. The money used for federal spending programs must be collected as federal taxes, or it must be borrowed. This lesson provides information about the costs of government programs.	Economics	8.2.11 12.2.10	16 Benchmarks: 0
6-8	Lemon Squeeze - the Lemonade Stand	Demand, Equilibrium Price, Markets, Prices	Students can taste test three brands of lemonade and compare prices with taste - is the most expensive the best? Using a reader's theater students will construct a supply and demand schedule and can create a bar or line graph to demonstrate market interaction between buyers and sellers.	Economics	N/A	7 8 Benchmarks: 0
6-12	Episode 7 – Gross Domestic Product – The Economic Lowdown Video Series	Economic Growth, Gross Domestic Product, GDP	A Federal Reserve economic education specialist explains what GDP measures, how it is calculated, how it is useful in determining whether and how quickly the economy is growing, and how GDP can be used as indicator of standard of living.	Economics	0	15 18 Benchmarks: 0
6-12	What is a Stock, or Who Owns McDonald's	Profit, Choice	Students will explore the fundamentals of stock ownership. They discuss how stock owners share the risks and rewards of purchasing stocks. Lesson 3 from Learning for the Market: Integrating the Stock Market Game Across the Curriculum, ©Council for Economic Education.	Business, Social studies, Language Arts	N/A	2 4 14 Benchmarks: 1
6-12	What are the Economic Functions of Government?	Role of Government	Class discussion and small group task identifying six economics functions of government and examples of these functions using current events. Unit II, Lesson 4 from Focus on Economics: Civics and Government, ©Council for Economic Education.	Economics, Government	N/A	16 Benchmarks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
6-12	Prohibition Then, MADD Today	Choice, Incentives	Students read short histories of Prohibition and MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and work in small groups to evaluate the consequences of these policies on consumers' behavior. Lesson 9 from Focus on Economics: United States History, ©Council for Economic Education.	Economics, American History	N/A	1 2 4 Benchmarks: 2, 4

6-8 Lessons

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