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…

Foreign currency units, exchange rates, the international payments process, and spending money abroad are discussed briefly in this booklet to help teachers explain the international economy. Thirty-two countries are listed with their respective currency units, some of which are illustrated. A chart shows the average yearly exchange rates between…

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 "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…

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…

Discusses a money management unit helpful in explaining national and international economic systems to elementary social studies students. Individual, group, and class activities are described. For journal availability, see SO 505 448. (Author/DB)

Economic education is needed. Elementary school children should be taught the following concepts of economics: that economics is concerned with the problem of deciding how to make the best use of resources to satisfy human wants; that production and consumption are functions of any economic system; that in America competition in a market is the…

Economics can be the most relevant and stimulating class students take in high school. One way to make this happen is to actively involve students in lessons that demonstrate important economic concepts and economic reasoning. This book contains a compilation of 14 popular lessons (all-time favorites from earlier publications by the National…

This curriculum guide emphasizes that economics is a method of thought or analysis and highlights the teaching of macroeconomic concepts. Definitions of economics, economic actions and their results, individual and group relationships, and supply and demand principles are reviewed. Macroeconomic concepts that are introduced include: (1) economic…

This is one of a series of essays adapted from articles in "On Reserve," a newsletter for economic educators published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. This pamphlet explains how public debt incurred by the federal government may not be necessarily bad from an economic perspective. The sections of the pamphlet include: (1)…

This instructional unit is intended to inform students about the coins and paper money used by U.S. citizens to conduct daily financial transactions. The unit is designed to supplement the teacher's regularly assigned materials in economics. The booklet provides a brief study of currency in the United States. It is intended to serve as the basic…

Information about the money most likely used by elementary school students in their transactions is presented in a four-part series. The unit is designed to supplement the teacher's regularly assigned materials in economics education. Each successive part presumes some incremental educational experience by the students. Part 1 includes lessons on…

This pamphlet recaps the chain of events known as The Bank Panic of 1907. Historians view this as a watershed event that had a lasting impact on the financial system of the United States. The panic resulted from the collapse of the United Copper Company and was averted with the intervention of John D. Rockefeller and the J. P. Morgan Company. The…

This pamphlet defines "national debt," explains how the national debt is incurred by the federal government, and what deficits are. The sections of the pamphlet include: (1) "Definitions"; (2) "History"; (3) "Measurements"; (4) "Problems"; and (5) "Strategies." The text is written in a…

This booklet examines the political events of the year 1912 in which the idea of the Federal Reserve System came into reality. Excerpts from reminiscences, letters and newspapers of the time give an inside look at the divergent forces and personalities that were brought together to form the central banking system of the United States. Sections of…