Economics

  • Birka - In this engaging game, students assume the role of Vikings who have returned to the medieval outpost of Birka to trade loot from villages they’ve plundered.  Playing cards represent the loot--spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.  To play effectively, students must use marginal analysis to determine whether prospective trades will benefit them, probe constantly for mutually beneficial exchanges that remain to be exploited, and bid more for cards that are relatively scarce.  Click here to download rules and a scoring sheet.
  • Cameron Balloon Virtual Factory - Cameron Balloons made the Breitling Orbiter balloon that made aviation history by flying right round the world, finishing on 21st March 1999.  Welcome to the Cameron Balloons virtual factory on Biz/ed. There are four main sections of the factory:
    • Factory floor - here you'll find worksheets, photos, relevant business studies theories and explanations of each main business function. This section also includes the new work flow and A Day in the Life of.... features.
    • Cameron Balloons - here there is general information about the company, its history and product range.
    • Cost breakdown - find out here how much each bit of a balloon will cost you.
    • Glossary - use this section to get to grips with ballooning jargon. You can click on the glossary icon Glossary to find out what a term means.
  • Economic Education Web
    This Nebraska-based site is part of the National Campaign for Economic Literacy movement, and the K-12 resources alone make it worth your while. There's lessons, Web-based activities, virtual economics, and all kinds of resources on standards and methods that promote best practices in this field. The Web Teach section is also excellent, although geared for middle school on up. Definitely worth your time no matter where you're located.
  • Economics for Tomorrow
    The state of Michigan boasts this wonderful site that is suitable for upper elementary children and beyond. Beginning with choices, resources and production there is a succinct explanation of the free market system that builds up to markets, prices and economic systems. The ten mini-quests are classroom ready and come complete with teacher support ideas. A glossary of important terms is available by links embedded right in the text.
  • Economics Teacher Resources
    Presented by the Kentucky Council on Economic Education, this site houses some 100 K-12 lessons which can be sorted by standard, title, grade level, or concept. Economics Minute and Net News Line help bring out the economic angle of current events, and Cyber Teach is "a comprehensive guide to teaching economics using the Internet, including basic web skills, and templates for creating effective lessons."
  • Econopolis
    This veteran Internet site offers a simulation for elementary students that takes them through an interactive journey with the characters Mega Money, his horse, Bill and his dog Dollar. There's an Opportunity Cost shop, a Goods and Services farm and even a Free Enterprise lemonade stand. There are printable worksheets for each leg of the journey, and even a place where students can create their own economics word problems to post to the site.
  • EduStock - Edustock is an educational web page designed to teach young and old alike, what the stock market is, and how it can work for them. It includes tutorials on the stock market and how to pick good stocks. It also provides information on a select group of companies to help you start your research into what stock is going to make your fortune. Last of all, it provides a FREE 20 minute delayed Stock market simulation on the World Wide Web.
  • Electric Money
    Robert Cringely hosts this PBS show that covers the history of money from coins through bills with lots of interesting visuals of historic currency. The clickable timeline runs from 1600 to the present and offers pop-up windows for each increment of progress along the way. The five teaching guides correspond with the program but can be adapted for classroom use even if you don't have access to the show. Guides are in .pdf format so be sure you have the Acrobat Reader installed before you jump in.
  • Frozen Price Game - Students are told that a hurricane has caused a major power outage, increasing the demand and decreasing the supply of ice. They then use two different methods to allocate ice:  first-come, first-served and price.  This game is a good way to demonstrate the advantages of price allocation.   Click here to download rules and materials.  Also see the Debate Topics page for a new debate over whether gasoline price-gougers should be punished.
  • Investing for Kids
    This first class site offers some of the most well-designed economics activities for students on the Web. There's the ThinkQuest Stock Game which you may already be familiar with, as well as the new more sophisticated StockQuest game which you can access from this site. The Stock Game for educators is a great staff development opportunity, and the Stock Learning Center is a digital tutorial of all the vocabulary and concepts needed to study the market.
  • Junior Achievement
    I've included this site because of the programs offered here - the kinds of programs that JA has been known for for years as it has worked with young people everywhere. Divided up by age groups, the themes presented here are easy to integrate into existing curricula and is correlated to most state standards. While you can't access everything online, there's enough here to get you started. Also, there are Titan and Personal Finance online simulations you can use with students too - just contact your local JA office for access info.
  • Kids $ense
    Kathleen Connell, the State Controller for California, presents this website designed to teach children more about economics. It's got a kid-friendly graphic design with interactive lessons on saving, budgeting, revenue and spending. The games and links help round out the site, along with the chance to join the club and print out a personal membership certificate.
  • Kids Bank
    Sovereign Bank offers this kid-centered look at money and finance with JAVA and non-JAVA versions of their site. There are sections on money, savings, checking, interest, and even a discussion of how technology today makes electronic funds transfers possible. Nicely done for elementary students, the graphics are cute and quick-loading and the explanations are very well-done. The Professor icons all over the site offer lots of extra activities to reinforce learning.
  • Lemonstand Game  - Your goal in this game will be to make as much money as you can within 30 days. To do this, you've decided to open your own business -- a Lemonade Stand! You'll have complete control over almost every part of your business, including pricing, quality control, inventory control, and purchasing supplies. You'll also have to deal with the weather, which can be unpredictable. Unfortunately, the weather will play a big part when customers are deciding whether or not to buy your product.
  • The Money Factory
    OK so it's really just the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, but it's the closest thing we have to a money factory! There's fascinating topics older students will enjoy, like the Anti-Counterfeiting link. And the Kid's section is chocked full of information and activities for younger students looking to learn more about money. All the worthwhile sections of the site require the Flash plug-in, so b e sure you have yours installed before visiting.
  • National Budget Simulation - This is a game to balance the US National budget, with descriptions on each expenditure, and much to learn.  This is a great concept to teach students about the Government, Math, and Economics while high-level critical thinking skills. This is a High School-Adult level game. Play either the short or long version ( I recommend the short for first time users). After picking whether you want to increase or decrease over 25 different budget areas (from the Administration of Justice to Welfare), you submit your budget and see where the deficit lies under your governing. Charts and graphs help visualize spending. There are short descriptions of each budget area to learn as students make budgeting decisions.
  • Peanuts and Crackerjacks
    This Federal Reserve Bank of Boston presents a look at the economics of professional team sports through this fun site. There's a baseball simulation that tests student knowledge of economics and trivia, and a sports page section that covers all the fundamentals of economics. The teacher section has approximately fifty activities and lesson ideas in .pdf format, and they are all correlated to state standards.
  • Practical Money Skills for Life
    Ranging from preschool through college, there's some three dozen lessons here complete with teacher guides and Internet resources. Corresponding parent topics are well-written and a great way to make that home-school connection while teaching your unit. There's also online calculators, five great games and a banking tutor that helps fill in all the basic content needed to be successful on the site.
  • Rags to Riches - FREE Concert Tour Game. Rake in as much cash as you can taking "Groovy Gravy" on a 10 week concert tour. Choose music venues, set ticket prices, record new songs and decide how much to spend on advertising. There's more info about how to play in the Rules.
  • Secrets of Making Money
    Based on a NOVA episode, this     site is actually about making money - not earning it. There are some enticing features including the anatomy of a dollar bill, how to identify counterfeit bills, and a money timeline from 9,000 BC to the present. Nice visual detail and challenging tasks make this worth your consideration for upper elementary and beyond.
  • Story of Stuff - From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
  • The Virtual Learning Arcade (VLA) is an exciting new section on Biz/ed that provides interactive online models and simulations for economics and business teachers, lecturers and students. The simulations also have support materials that have been written to enhance their educational value. These include explanations of relevant theories, interactive worksheets, definitions and guidelines on using the models. The models currently available are shown below.
  • Who Wants to Be a Farmer? - So you think you've got the skills to succeed in running your own business? The aim of this game is to run your family farm for a 10 year (turn) period and see just how good you are at running a business. Seems simple, you've got 5 fields, some fertiliser, a holiday home and the sun is shining. What could possibly go wrong? Well, internal and external shocks await, it's a competitive world and farming is a bruising industry. Your management rating could just as easily fall as rise.
  • Virtual Developing Country - This site introduces you to many of the issues and ideas that are of interest in the field of development economics. You can take a series of virtual field trips throughout Zambia visiting a number of places and people. At each stop on the way you will be able to gain access to key data and economic theory, a glossary, pictures and have the opportunity to complete worksheets.
  • Young Investor.com - The Fleet Kids site is a great collection of interactive games that help students become both better at math and better prepared for managing their own money. Although visitors need to sign up to play, the process is fast and easy. Sign up with a fictitious user name, a password, and optionally, your school's name. Students can play as individuals to practice their math skills, or for their school to earn technology related awards. There is also a section for teachers, that helps them prepare for and follow up on online activities.

100 different financial calculators

Online high school economics lessons

EconEdLink National Council on Economic Education marcopolo EconEdLink   A premier source of classroom tested, Internet-based economic lesson materials for K-12 teachers and their students.  Browse EconEdlink online lessons by Title, Grade, Standard, or Lesson Plan Type. Please choose how you would like to view the lessons by clicking on the appropriate indicator. To look for a lesson plan by Concept, please use the Search function located on the side of the page.

Lesson: How Has the Constitution Shaped the Economic System In The United States?
Concepts: economics, civics, private property, free enterprise, choice, self-interest motive, competition, markets, prices, role of government
From Focus on Economics: Civics and Government
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/fecg1.htm

Lesson: What Are the Economic Functions Of Government?
Concepts:  economics, civics, economic functions of government
From Focus on Economics: Civics and Government
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/fecga.htm

Lesson:  Why Nations Trade
Concepts: economics, geography, opportunity cost, absolute advantage, comparative advantage, specialization, terms of trade
From Focus on Economics: Geography
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/FEOG1.htm

Lesson: Limiting Trade
Concepts: economics, geography, tariffs, quotas, embargoes, licensing requirements, standards (health and safety), subsidies, infant industry, strategic industry, exports, imports, terms of trade
From Focus on Economics: Geography
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/feoga.htm

Lesson: Places and Production
Concepts: economics, geography, gross domestic product (GDP), choropleth map, measure of value, double counting, final goods and services, flow of product, consumer spending
From Focus on Economics: Geography
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/feogx.htm

Lesson: What Is a Stock? or Who Owns McDonalds?
Concepts: economize, ownership, profit, risk, social studies, language arts
From Learning for the Market: Integrating the Stock Market Game Across the Curriculum
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/mark1.htm

Reading: How Can Entrepreneurs Control Costs?
Concepts: business, accounting, economics, fixed costs, variable costs
From Entrepreneurship in the U.S. Economy
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/euse1.htm

Lesson: How Can Big Business Make Money From Tariffs?
Concepts: economics, American history, incentives, tariffs, special interest groups
From Focus on Economics: U. S. History
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/feus1.htm

Lesson:  Prohibition Then; MADD Today
Concepts: economics, American history, choice, costs/benefits, incentives, externalities (social consequences)
From Focus on Economics: U. S. History
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/feusA.htm

Lesson: Andersonville Prison:  An Economic Microcosm
Concepts: American history, scarcity, economic wants, markets, prices, economic systems, command economy, market economy
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/lesson2.htm

Lesson on The Economic Value of Education: Is the Tassel Worth the Hassle?
Concepts: econsumer economics, choice, opportunity cost, incentives
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/lesson15.htm

Lesson on Privatizing Schools:  Schools For Sale
Concepts: economics, government, public goods, incentives, private goods, economic efficiency, costs
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/lesson19.htm

Demand and Supply On-line
Concepts: economics, demand, supply, equilibrium, income, prices, diminishing marginal utility
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/Dem_Sup/demand.htm

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