Curriculum Resources

In order for today’s children to become tomorrow's effective citizens, workers and entrepreneurs they must have a firm and complete understanding of economic and financial literacy topics. Teachers and school districts often lack the resources to purchase materials that are specifically designed to introduce the issues associated with economics and financial literacy into the classroom. The Council offers high quality curriculum to teachers free of charge. Each of these teacher resources is nationally recognized for educational excellence.

Curriculum materials are distributed to teachers through our five Centers for Economic Education in conjunction with teacher training and student programming.

Please contact us for additional information on obtaining any of these materials.

Virtual Economics -

The Virtual Economics CD-ROM is loaded with interactive tools to help teachers better understand the principles and concepts of economics and personal finance. Within this tool is an extensive data base with over 1,200 lessons that can be referenced by grade level, concept or even by your state standards. In addition to the lesson plans and knowledge that this CD contains you will also find 51 class-room-ready multimedia explanations for key economic concepts.

Virtual Economics was produced by the National Council on Economic Education with a generous grant from State Farm Insurance.

Focus: Understanding Economics in U.S. History -

Sure to capture the attention of your inquisitive and energetic students, these activity-based lessons give you a new, refreshing way to meet your U.S. History content goals, and infuse eye-opening economics material at the same time. Your students solve intriguing historical mysteries such as:

• Why did the 13 American colonies prosper, when they had little to offer economically?
• Is education beyond high school worth the cost?
• Why did the economy grow during the 1920's, but falter during the 1930's?
• Did the New Deal help, or hurt, economic recovery?
• Why did the post-World War II years bring unprecedented prosperity and expansion to the American middle class?

Focus: Globalization -

Now high school teachers can harness the power of 12 mind-expanding lesson plans to frame the globalization debate in terms any student can understand.

With hands-on activities that cover the key concepts from trade to the environment to outsourcing you'll have a balanced set of tools that give your students the skills to compete in the global economy.

Energy, Economics, and the Environment -

Want to challenge your upper elementary students to analyze energy and environment issues from an economics perspective? These lesson plans give teachers the tools -- and students the knowledge they need -- to analyze important and timely energy and environment issues. High school curriculum also available.

Focus: Grades K-2 Economics -

Is it ever to early too teach economics to your elementary students? If you want to give them an early understanding of fundamental economics concepts, now is the time to integrate economics into your classroom.

These activity-based lessons give you a seamless way to infuse economics throughout your curriculum. This roadmap to teaching economics to young students gives you easy-to-use lesson plans, teaching tips and fun activities. You'll keep your students actively engaged, and also cover language arts, math and reading content at the same time.

Learning, Earning, and Investing -

With this comprehensive investment education curriculum, you'll introduce your students to the ins-and-outs of long-term investing. They'll take a critical look at investment opportunities – mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and more – and uncover strategies for building lasting wealth. Middle School curriculum also available.

Teaching the Ethical Foundations of Economics

Teaching the Ethical Foundations of Economics contains 10 lessons that reintroduce an ethical dimension to economics in the tradition of Adam Smith, who believed ethical considerations were central to life. Utilizing these innovative instructional materials your students will learn about the important role ethics and character play in a market economy and how, in turn, markets influence ethical behavior.

The lessons do more than illustrate how ethical conduct improves an economy. They actively involve the students through simulations, group decision making, problem solving, classroom demonstrations and role playing. The lessons encourage students to think critically about ethical dilemmas.