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Economis Mini-Lessons:
Grades 5-8 Mandatory
Lessons
- Choices and Opportunity Costs Lesson Grades 5-8
This foundational lesson introduces the critical concepts of scarcity and opportunity cost. It teaches the fundamental principles of economics (e.g., We all make choices; Choices have consequences; Unlimited human wants/needs and limited resources produces the problem of scarcity). This lesson can be done with or without Internet-connected computers.
 Banking Basics Grades 5-8
This lesson, made entertaining by the use of role plays, covers the basics of checking and saving accounts, deposits and withdrawals, and the benefits of having a bank account. This first half of the lesson is done offline; the latter half involves students logging onto their Economis accounts online.
- Making Cents of Your Life Lesson Grades 5-12
This is a good general overview lesson on time and money management. It also briefly covers topics including job-searching, saving, spending, and taxes. This lesson does not require computers/Internet. (Note: You may wish to teach the optional lesson, "Budgeting 1: Grades 5-8" prior to this lesson in order to ground your instruction on budgeting upon a solid Biblical foundation.)
- Savings and Investing Lesson Grades 5-8
In this lesson, students
will learn about saving, interest rates, and simple and compound
interest. It also introduces the concept of Certificate of Deposit
(CDs) and explains how these work. It is useful to combine this lesson
with some student hands-on time in Economis,
particularly so that they can transfer funds into their savings
accounts and/or purchase CDs. This lesson requires that students have access to computers that are connected to the Internet.
- New!! Offline Version: Savings and Investing Grades 5-8
This is essentially the same lesson as "Saving and Investing Lesson Grades 5-8," except that instead of watching computer-based simulations online, students will participate in hands-on activities to assist their learning.
- Budgeting
Lesson 2 Grades 5-8
Using an interactive, online
activity developed by the U.S. Mint, students will build a budget based
on an annual salary. This lesson introduces the concepts of fixed and
variable expenses and taxes. This lesson requires that students have access to computers that are connected to the Internet.
- New!! Offline Version: Budgeting
Lesson 2 Grades 5-8
This is essentially the same lesson as "Budgeting Lesson 2 Grades 5-8" above, except that instead of using an online format, the classmates interact with one another to develop a budget based on an annual salary.
- Business Decisions Game
This final mandatory lesson for the middle-school students has them play a business simulation game. This game introduces business vocabulary, such as "wholesaler" and "supplier." It reinforces good decision-making habits as the teams plan their business strategies.
Optional Lessons
- Consumer Spending Grades 5-8
This lesson takes the students through Marlin's trip to the State Fair. It emphasizes choice-making and opportunity costs and could appropriately be taught after the mandatory lesson #1 as a reinforcement of the concepts therein.
- Budgeting Lesson 1 Grades 5-8
This lesson reviews with
students some key Biblical verses on money and stewardship. It then
gets kids involved in composing a hypothetical summer budget. This lesson does not require student computers and Internet access. If you want to give the students a solid Biblical foundation on budgeting, do this lesson BEFORE the "Making Sense of Your LIfe" and the "Budgeting Lesson 2 Grades 5-8" lessons.
- Budgeting and Stewardship Grades 5-8
This is another lesson that talks about budgeting in the context of the Biblical themes of stewardship and generosity to the poor.
Middle school students will also enjoy the Entrepreneurship Lesson. If you plan to teach it, doing it right after the Profit Lesson would be particularly good:
- Entrepreneurship Lesson
In this lesson, students assess whether they possess entrepreneurial characteristics; brainstorm about entrepreneurial ventures and their potential for success; and learn about the key components of a business plan. This lesson can be done with or witout computers/Internet.
*If you plan to involve your middle school students in the stock module of Economis, you should definitely teach the two lessons on All About Investing. We would recommend that you teach these lessons after the students have completed all the mandatory lessons listed above.
- All About Investing: Part
One
This
lesson covers the ABCs of the stock market, looking at concepts of
risk, reward, and liquidity. It does not require computers/Internet.
- All About Investing: Part Two
This lesson builds on the previous one, reinforcing concepts from that lesson and then teaching students how to read the stock pages of a newspaper and introducing them to the concepts of capital gains and dividends. The material in this lesson is fairly sophisticated, but the lesson is made fun by the use of the Loss or Gain? Game (which in one version can involve water balloon tossing.) At the end of the lesson, students are encouraged to log into their Economis accounts online to begin building ther own stock portfolios.
- Planning and Decision-Making, Part 1
This
lesson helps students learn to make SMART decisions and plan financially for both the short-term and long-term.
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