Exciting
Lesson Plans
For Teachers

Volume 1: Colonial America

This book contains fifteen hands-on lesson plans including topics such as:  Indian economies, the resources of the Pilgrims, the Virginia Company as an investment, the role of trade, comparison of the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies, colonial money, a study of the economic opportunities of women, slaves, artisans, farmers, and large landowners in colonial times. Many of the lessons are based on children’s literature, including books by popular writers such as Jean Fritz and Don Hall.  All lessons include handouts and activities such as games, simulations or songs. (138 pages)  

Grades 4-8

Volume 2: A Young Nation

This book contains sixteen hands-on lesson plans including topics such as: exploring the economic relationship between the colonies and England; looking at the trade-offs made in writing the Constitution; exploring the role of Eli Whitney’s invention in the spread of cotton plantations across the South; study of the demand for cotton created by the manufacturing North; the Gettysburg Address and a cost-benefit analysis of the Civil War; decision-making of those who chose to be pioneers; and the movement from an agricultural society to an urban society. Many of the lessons are based on children’s literature including book by such popular writers as Jean Fritz, Deborah Hopkinson, and Peter and Connie Roop.  All lessons include reproducible handouts as well as games, simulations or songs. (152 pages)  

Grades 4-8

Volume 3: The Twentieth Century

This book contains sixteen hands-on lessons including topics such as: the incentives of immigrants; the costs and benefits of industrialization; the unintended consequences of prohibition; the costs of the Stock Market Crash of 1929; costs of bank failures of the Great Depression; the unemployed in the Great Depression; families in the Dust Bowl; migrant workers with Cesar Chavez; Martin Luther King and civil rights; globalization and why people trade; plus lessons about people such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosie the Riveter, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Madam C.J. Walker. All of the lesson plans have teacher resources such as literature links, reproducible handouts as well as games, simulations or songs. (169 pages) 

Grades 4-8

Below, download the Table of Contents for Volumes 1, 2 and 3,

the Common Core Standards for each lesson in Volumes 1 and 2,

and The National Standards in Economics correlated to Volume 3.

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* If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free.

In twelve exciting lesson plans students in elementary and middle school learn about the stock market.  Each lesson opens with a list of basic concepts and national standards in economics and personal finance, followed by several hands-on activities.  Lessons also include closure questions, assessment activities, and an extension section with reinforcement activities such as references to relevant children’s literature, puzzles, and even songs to familiar tunes with words that describe the concepts.  Pre- and Post-Tests are included in the appendix, along with a glossary.

Many teachers who use these lesson plans may be participating in an organized ten week simulation such as The Stock Market Game www.smgww.org or The Stock Market Simulation www.nationalsms.com, so we have provided some teacher resources for them in the appendix. These excellent programs are enjoyed by thousands of teachers. If you have not done so, we encourage you to explore these options. Both programs engage students in online simulated trading with real prices. In them, students compete with many other teams.  This competition lends added excitement to the experience—excitement that can spill over into other areas and really enhance the learning environment. You  find that students will now have reasons to use "real-world" math skills. They will have reasons to pay attention to the news. They will have opportunities to use research skills before they make investments. Also, when students operate in teams, they will learn skills in working together. 

Thus, we hope these lessons will help students learn the importance of saving and investing for their futures.  We think they can also learn more about the role of business in the economy, as well as how the stock market helps businesses raise financial capital while letting small investors share in their success or failure. Along the way, we are confident they will learn more about the economy as they practice math, research and decision-making skills. And as a bonus, these activities add lots of excitement to the classroom.   

Grades 3 to 7

Below, download The National Standards in Economics correlated to Adventures in The Stock Market.

Also, download some free puzzles and lesson plans 

and see how fun and it can be to learn about the stock market!

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* If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free.

Using this resource, teachers can guide students as they create their own original puppet show and experience basic economic concepts. They start with decision-making as they choose the plot and characters. They experience production and scarce resources as they create puppets.

Specialization and interdependence come into action when students organize for production. They build their own human capital when they rehearse and present their show.

Finally, they learn about the critical role of consumers as they market their show. In addition to the step-by-step teacher's instructions, the guide includes 30 lessons, activity sheets, supply lists, ideas for making puppets, puppetry tips and sample puppet plays.   (129 pages) Grades K-8

Puppet Economics gives step-by-step instructions for guiding students as they write their own original puppet shows and learn economic concepts along the way. In the process:

• Students learn about economic decision making as they plan the plot and create the characters for their show
• They make choices about production and resources as they design and create the puppets
• They experience specialization and interdependence when organizing for production
• They learn about consumers as they market their show
• They see the value of human capital as they rehearse and present their show

This is an outstanding program that includes teacher resources and lesson plans for elementary through middle-school classrooms. It also is a great addition to a home-schoolers curriculum.

Below, download our 

Puppet Planning Chart

Table of Contents

The National Standards in Economics correlated to Puppet Economics

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* If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free.

Through 15 engaging hands-on lesson plans, students will learn to notice economics in action in their everyday lives. They begin by learning to "spot" the economics in popular children's literature by authors such as: Harriet Ziefert, Russell Hoban, Judith Viorst, Robert McClosky, Anne Rockwell, Gail Gibbons, Pat Brisson, and Tomie dePaola.

Each lesson starts off using an "Economics Spotter List" to find the economic concepts in a story—about subjects from Africa to Ice Cream. The concepts are then reinforced through activities, games and songs. Five bonus "mini-lessons" are included to show how to use the "Economics Spotter List" with other books. Lessons also include reproducible handouts.
(107 pages) Grades K-5

Below, download more information about how to help your students become "Economics Spotters!"  Table of Contents,

The National Standards in Economics correlated to Spotting Economics

Common Core Standards for each lesson

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* If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free.