Essential Question: How can you think like an economist?

In a Writing for Understanding activity, students analyze, create, and explain economic enigmas using the principles of economic thinking.

Essential Question: Why can't you always get what you want?

In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students play the Economics is Everywhere game to identify goods and services, factors of production, and the tradeoffs and opportunity costs of economic decisions.

Essential Question: Who or what decides what you get?

In an Experiential Exercise, students engage in a simulation that parallels the production and consumption of goods in market and command economies.

Essential Question: How does trade make people better off?

In an Experiential Exercise, students take on the role of farmers who must specialize and trade in order to achieve their goals.

Essential Question: What are demand and supply, and what factors influence them?

In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students work in pairs to analyze a series of newspaper headlines to determine their effect on the demand and supply curve.

Why Teach This Lesson?

Essential Question: How do you know when the price is "right"?

In an Experiential Exercise, students participate in a market simulation to discover how an equilibrium price is set and to experience the effects of price ceilings and price floors.

Why Teach This Lesson?

Essential Question: What happens when markets do not work perfectly?

In a Problem Solving Groupwork activity, students analyze an industry case study and create a graphic equation that demonstrates how their industry exemplifies the characteristics of one of the imperfect market structures.

Why Teach This Lesson?

Essential Question: How should you spend, save, and invest your money?

In a Response Group activity, students act as financial advisers to make recommendations about spending, saving, and investing.

Why Teach This Lesson?

Essential Question: How do entrepreneurs use their resources to start businesses?

In an Experiential Exercise, students form sole proprietorships, partnerships, or corporations to develop and present business plans to investors.

Essential Question: Why is it important to develop your human capital?

In a Writing for Understanding activity, students research information about a career of their choice and write a resume applying for a job approximately 10 years in the future.

Essential Question: How should the U.S. government carry out its economic roles?

In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students analyze political cartoons to examine points of view on the economic roles of the U.S. government.

Essential Question: Who and what should be taxed?

In a Response Group activity, students attend a mock town meeting to debate four local tax proposals.

Essential Question: How do economists measure a nation's economic health?

In a Visual Discovery activity, pairs examine four case studies, interpreting data and primary source photographs related to key economic indicators.

Essential Question: How do policy makers use fiscal and monetary policy to stabilize the economy?

In a Response Group activity, students assume the roles of voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee to determine the best policy for stabilizing the economy.

Essential Question: How do countries conduct trade in the global economy?

In an Experiential Exercise, students become importers and exporters to trade goods in the global economy.

Essential Question: Do the benefits of globalization outweigh the costs?

In a Writing for Understanding activity, students assume the roles of proponents and critics of globalization, participate in a series of debates, and write blogs evaluating whether the benefits of globalization outweigh the costs.