European Union lesson plans

The European Union has free downloadable lesson plans on a wide variety of topics, including a substantial number of economic lessons.

The high school lesson plans include PowerPoints and pdf lessons on topics such as the euro, immigration, the environment, and the single market.
http://www.eurunion.org/eu/European-Union-Lesson-Plans-Secondary-Level.html


The K-12 lesson plans include geography, language, and social studies (including economic topics like currency, environment, and prices.)
http://euce.org/education/k12plans.php


The Teachers Corner organizes lessons by age group:
http://europa.eu/teachers-corner/index_en.htm

Monetary Policy Game

"So you want to be in charge of monetary policy? Think you have what is takes to steer our country's central bank? See how it works by taking charge of a simulated economy."

The San Francisco Fed has an online game to explore monetary policy. The player sets interest rates to try to keep unemployment and inflation at their target levels. Assorted shocks, like a tax cut or an oil crisis, create turmoil and the Fed can respond by raising or lowering interest rates. A round takes about 2 minutes to complete and the game can be replayed (different shocks will appear in different rounds.)

The game also has a "learn more" section that discusses the Fed's policy tools, has a series of short videos on past policy, and includes a glossary of economic terms.


http://www.frbsf.org/education/activities/chairman/index.html

Thanks to Philip Mulder for sharing this resource.

Economics and Art Webpage

Purdue University's Michael Watts is developing a website on using art to teach economics.

https://intra.krannert.purdue.edu/sites/econandart/Pages/Home.aspx

Several slideshows are already online, including: "Natural Resources and Agriculture," "Capital Resources and Technology," and "Money, Banking, and Financial Crhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifises." Each slideshow uses paintings and drawings to illustrate the economic concepts. The last slide of each show presents a list of discussion questions relating the pictures and concepts.

More slideshows are planned in coming months, as well as more information on the concepts, artists, and individual artworks.

Music for the recession

Marketplace reports on music for the current economy.

"Musician Ry Cooder explores a number of genres on his new album, which was inspired by the current economy and the protest songs of the past. This is an interesting take on our current economic situation."

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/08/29/pm-ry-cooder-on-the-protest-songs-of-today/


Thanks to Katy Gustafson for sharing this.

Economics Video Contest

Investing In Michigan HS Student Video Competition

The Michigan Council on Economic Education has a new competition for Michigan high school students. The contest is to create a short video (less than 3 minutes) on an economic topic. Videos may be made by students working in teams or as individuals. The contest is free to enter and the top prize is $300. The deadline is April 15, 2012


The general announcement is at:
http://www.mceeonline.org/programs/programs-list/investing-in-michigan-video-competition/

There’s a pdf with detailed rules and entry forms at:
http://www.mceeonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/MCEE-Video-Contest-Rules.pdf


Economic Topics for the contest:

1.1.1 Scarcity, Choice, or Opportunity Cost
1.2.2 Analyze how prices are signals provide signals to buyers and sellers in a competitive market
1.3.1 Law of Supply
1.3.2 Law of Demand
1.3.3 Price, Equilibrium, or Elasticity
1.4.4 Explain functions of government in a market economy including providing public goods, services, creation of currency, establish property rights, the enforcement of contracts, correcting externalities, or market failures.
2.1.2 Circular flow and national economy
2.1.3 Money supply, Inflation, or Recession
2.1.7 Economic Indicators
2.2.1 Federal Government and Macroeconomic goals-Stable prices, low unemployment, economic growth.
2.2.3 Fiscal policy
2.2.4 Federal Reserve or Monetary Policy
3.1.1 Major Economic Systems, Command, Market, Traditional, Mixed
3.2.1 Absolute or Comparative Advantage
3.2.2 Trade Organizations or Trade Agreements
3.2.3 Exchange Rates
4.1.2 Marginal Benefit and Cost

The contest uses TeacherTube (also free) to avoid problems that some schools have with YouTube. Entries should be tagged with the code MCEE2012.

Entry forms should be sent to:
Michigan Council on Economic Education
Dr. David Dieterle
41500 Gardenbrook, Walsh College
Novi, Michigan 48375

Prizes

First place: $300
Second place: $200
Third place: $100
PLUS 8 “VIDEO of MERIT” winners

Please feel free to forward this information to teachers or students who may be interested

European debt graphic

The BBC has a great interactive chart illustrating the European Debt interdependence.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15748696

The chart summarizes a lot of complex data into an easy to grasp visual.




thanks to Nigel Willmott for pointing to this resource on the CEE discussion forum.

Financing a College Education lesson

Mathematics Teacher shares a favorite lesson on Financing a College Education

"During the College Project, students investigate a college of their choice to determine the true cost of attendance (tuition, room and board, books, student fees, travel expenses, fun money, etc.) We use recent growth rates to predict the increase in tuition for each year that they will be in college and come up with a grand total, which is always a staggering amount. Next, each student creates a plan to determine how to cover the costs: parental contribution, summer jobs, work-study, scholarships, loans. Students make a formal presentation to their parents, outlining the costs and their plan. They also submit a paper detailing their calculations and create a poster."

A complete description is available at http://www.nctm.org/publications/article.aspx?id=30924

The Backpage: My Favorite Lesson
Financing a College Education
Laura M. Crowley Edited by Jodie A. Miller
Mathematics Teacher
October 2011, Volume 105, Issue 3, Page 240

Thanks to Marketplace for spotlighting this lesson.